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30-706: Constructed as the Lamar-McKinney Viaduct in 1933, the original road bridge was built to carry vehicles across the periodically swelling Trinity River to West Dallas. It was completed 27 years after the river's 1908 flood that submerged most of the area. The bridge was renamed the Ronald Kirk Bridge in 2016 from its former name, the Continental Avenue Bridge . It was renamed in honor of the first African-American mayor of Dallas, Ronald Kirk . The bridge had fallen into

60-484: A dozen of the workmen fell into the torrent at this point; exaggerated reports of their drowning swept the city.] Dallas was without power for three days, all telephone and telegraph service was down, and rail service was canceled. The only way to reach Oak Cliff was by boat. West Dallas was hit harder than any other part of the city—the Dallas Times Herald said "indescribable suffering" plagued

90-541: A drowned swine or other livestock . The construction forces of the Texas & Pacific worked feverishly to safeguard the long trestle carrying their tracks across the stream. Suddenly, this whole structure turned on its side down-stream, broke loose from the rest of the track at one end and swung out into the middle of the current and began breaking up, first into large sections and then into smaller pieces, rushing madly along to some uncertain destination. [Approximately half

120-457: A more northward direction at South Street then ends at US 80 near downtown, with the road continuing north as Spur 63 . SH 31 has four business routes. Business State Highway 31-C (Bus. SH 31-C) is a business loop that runs through Hubbard . The highway is known locally as North 4th Street. The entire route is in Hill County . Business State Highway 31-D (Bus. SH 31-D)

150-470: A playground, a splash park, lounge chairs, human-sized chess boards, and a ceiling of cloth to shade the area, along with many trails surrounding the bridge in the Trinity River Basin and on the levees. This bridge is part of the greater Trinity River Project . [REDACTED] Media related to Lamar-McKinney Bridge at Wikimedia Commons Trinity River (Texas) The Trinity River

180-507: A state of disrepair by 2010, when plans were being developed to reconstruct Continental Avenue and the bridge. During the reconstruction of the bridge it was decided that there was no need for it to carry vehicular traffic, since the nearby Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was completed in 2012 to do so. The design as a footbridge complemented the nearby open park plan for Klyde Warren Park , as a recreation amenity. The Ronald Kirk Bridge reopened on Sunday, June 15, 2014 (Father's Day). It opened with

210-629: Is a 710-mile (1,140 km) river, the longest with a watershed entirely within the U.S. state of Texas . It rises in extreme northern Texas, a few miles south of the Red River . The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the southern side of the Red River. The Trinity River was previously identified as the stream that the Caddo called Arkikosa in Central Texas and Daycoa nearer

240-555: Is a business loop that runs through Corsicana . The route was designated in 2013. The highway is known locally as 7th Avenue or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Just east of FM 2555 (45th Street) the road passes by Navarro College . The entire route is in Navarro County . Business State Highway 31-H (Bus. SH 31-H) is a business loop that runs through Athens . The route was designated in 2004 when SH 31

270-565: Is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico . Its river mouth is near the town of Anahuac , southeast of Houston . Plans from the 1890s for a shipping channel along the length of the Trinity River were scrapped because it would have required extensive dredging to make the river navigable, although several overpasses were built with very high clearances in anticipation of the shipping channel. Locks were actually built 13 miles downstream of Dallas in

300-705: The Missouri River in Kansas City . Ultimately, a US$ 650,000 (US$ 20.5 million in today's terms) bond election was approved and in 1912, the Oak Cliff Viaduct (now the Houston Street Viaduct ) was opened with festivities that drew 58,000 spectators. At that time, the bridge was the longest concrete structure in the world. Following from the 1908 flooding, levees were first constructed in 1932. They were heightened in 1960 to

330-731: The Richland-Chambers Reservoir before entering the town of Powell . The highway then travels through the town of Kerens before crossing the Trinity River into Henderson County . In Henderson County, the route becomes less rural. SH 31 passes just south of the Cedar Creek Reservoir while serving the towns of Trinidad and Malakoff . The highway then enters Athens , bypassing the town on Loop 7 ; along with Loop 7, SH 31 also has overlaps with US 175 and SH 19 around Athens. SH 31 then leaves

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360-611: The 30 ft that has been maintained to the early 21st century. Current plans to improve the existing levees are part of what is known as the Dallas Floodway Extension project and the Trinity River Project . They entail extending two existing levees and raising two others, all adjacent to the downtown Dallas area. Downtown Dallas also suffered severe flooding in 1990. Minor flooding of the Trinity River occurs frequently, such as, for instance, in

390-487: The Trinity River flood zone in downtown Dallas into the nation's largest urban park, featuring three signature bridges designed by acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava . A similar project is planned by the Tarrant Regional Water District, City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Streams & Valleys Inc., and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop an area north of "downtown" as "uptown" along

420-547: The Trinity River just southeast of Dallas. The Trinity flows southeast from Dallas across a fertile floodplain and the pine forests of eastern Texas. The Trinity crosses Texas State Highway 31 in Henderson County , near where the first county seat, Buffalo, was established. Roughly 65 miles (105 km) north of the mouth on Galveston Bay, an earthen dam was built in 1968 to form Lake Livingston . The river empties into Trinity Bay , an arm of Galveston Bay that

450-558: The Trinity River. However, the Corps is working nearby on the Dallas Floodway Extension Project. The DFE Project is under construction and is helping to fulfill their mission, as directed by Congress in cooperation with the city of Dallas. It is helping to lower flood risk, and provide ecosystem restoration and recreation to the citizens of Dallas. The Trinity River Corridor Project is intended to transform

480-405: The Trinity River. This plan promotes a large mixed-use development adjacent to the central city area of Fort Worth, with a goal to prevent urban sprawl by promoting the growth of a healthy, vibrant urban core. The Trinity River Vision lays the groundwork to enable Fort Worth 's central business district to double in size over the next forty years. Major flooding occurred on the Trinity River in

510-640: The Trinity. This had already been tried following the 1890 flood; the result was the "Long Wooden Bridge" that connected Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff and Cadiz in Dallas, but the resulting unstable bridge was easily washed away by the 1908 flood. George B. Dealey , publisher of the Dallas Morning News , proposed a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) concrete bridge based on the design of a bridge crossing

540-644: The West Fork near downtown Fort Worth and continues as the West Fork. The Elm Fork Trinity River flows south from near Gainesville through Ray Roberts Lake and east of the city of Denton , eventually through Lewisville Lake . The West Fork and the Elm Fork merge as they enter the city of Dallas . The East Fork Trinity River (on old maps the Bois d'Arc River) begins near McKinney, Texas , and flows through Lavon Lake and then Lake Ray Hubbard before joining

570-729: The West Fork, the Clear Fork, the Elm Fork, and the East Fork. The West Fork Trinity River has its headwaters in Archer County . From there it flows southeast, through the man-made reservoirs Lake Bridgeport and Eagle Mountain Lake , and eastward through Lake Worth and the city of Fort Worth . The Clear Fork Trinity River begins north of Weatherford, Texas , and flows southeastward through Lake Weatherford and Benbrook Lake reservoirs. It flows northeastward, where it joins

600-455: The area. Much to the horror of residents, thousands of livestock drowned in the flood and some became lodged in the tops of trees. The stench of their decay hung over the city as the water subsided. After the disastrous flood, the city's citizenry wanted to find a way to control the unpredictable Trinity River and to build a bridge linking Oak Cliff and Dallas. The immediate reaction was clamor to build an indestructible, all-weather crossing over

630-836: The coast. However, in 2022, language preservationists from the Caddo Nation determined their ancestral language lacked the letter “R” sound. Arkikosa was likely a corruption or misspelling of the word Akokisa. In the vernacular of another tribe, the Atakapa who settled in the Gulf Coast woodlands, Akokisa means “river people.” French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle , in 1687, named the river, Riviere des canoës ("River of Canoes"). In 1690 Spanish explorer Alonso de León named it, "La Santísima Trinidad" ("the Most Holy Trinity"). The Trinity River has four branches:

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660-468: The downtown area and serves as the southern terminus of US 271 near The Health Science Center at UT Tyler , then leaves the city just after intersecting Loop 323 for a second time. Leaving Tyler, the highway's route becomes more rural again, traveling through wooded areas before entering Kilgore . In Kilgore, SH 31 has a brief overlap with US 259 that lasts until I-20 . The highway has an interchange with Loop 281 then enters Longview . SH 31 turns in

690-471: The early 1900s. Original federal plans called for building 36 locks and dams from Trinity Bay near Houston to Dallas. The first built was Lock and Dam No. 1 in the city of Dallas at McCommas Bluff, directly west of Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. Lock construction came to a standstill in the wake of World War I, however. Only Lock and Dam Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 20 and 25 were built. There are currently no plans for addressing these old locks located in various spots along

720-417: The highway bypasses the towns of Mount Calm and Hubbard . Entering Navarro County , SH 31 runs through Dawson and has an overlap with FM 709 through the town then intersects FM 667 near Navarro Mills Lake. The highway then bypasses Corsicana , passing near or through the towns of Oak Valley , Retreat , and Mildred and intersects I-45 and US 287 in southeast Corsicana. SH 31 passes just north of

750-523: The loop in northeast Athens near an intersection with FM 317 then travels through the towns of Murchison and Brownsboro . The highway crosses over the northwestern segment of Lake Palestine , travels through Chandler , then crosses the Neches River into Smith County . SH 31 intersects Loop 49 Toll and travels through suburban areas of Smith County before entering Tyler . The highway travels through Tyler along Front Street, passing just south of

780-415: The route had been extended northeast to Gladewater , replacing part of SH 15 so that SH 15 had only one route west of Gladewater. On October 26, 1932, SH 31 Spur was designated through Malakoff . On September 26, 1939, the section from Tyler to Gladewater was reassigned to U.S. 271 (which it had been cosigned with earlier), with SH 31 now being extended east to Kilgore over former SH 176 . SH 31 Spur

810-474: The spring of 2015 and summer of 2022. Texas State Highway 31 State Highway 31 ( SH 31 ) runs from U.S. 84 northeast of Waco via Corsicana , Athens , Tyler , Kilgore to U.S. 80 in Longview . SH 31 was a route proposed on October 9, 1917 to run from Waco northeast via Corsicana and Athens to Tyler, which remains the western portion of its current route to this day. On November 27, 1922,

840-405: The years 1844, 1866, 1871, and 1890, but a major event in the spring of 1908 set in motion the harnessing of the river. On 26 May 1908, the Trinity River reached a depth of 52.6 feet (16.03 m) and a width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Five people died, 4,000 were left homeless, and property damage was estimated at $ 2.5 million. Now the wreckage of a shed or outhouse would move by, followed by

870-555: Was re-routed along Loop 7 . The highway is known locally as Corsicana Street west of downtown and east of downtown it is known as Tyler Street and briefly runs along Prairieville Street for a block near the Henderson County Courthouse. SH 31 Bus. H has an overlap with US 175 Bus. in the western part of town. The entire route is in Athens , Henderson County . Business State Highway 31-K (Bus. SH 31-K)

900-574: Was renumbered as Spur 63 . On June 30, 1971, SH 31 was extended north to I-20 concurrent with US 259. When U.S. 259 was rerouted on July 25, 1985, SH 31 was extended northeast into Longview. In 2013, a new route was designated around Corsicana for a proposed bypass. Construction on the bypass began in 2016 and opened to traffic in 2021. SH 31 begins at an interchange with US 84 northeast of Waco . The highway travels through rural areas of McLennan County , passing just north of Axtell . SH 31 intersects FM 939 then enters Hill County . In Hill County,

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