The Jefferson Viaduct heading into Downtown. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.
If you’ve been keeping track of the proposed Houston and Jefferson viaduct changes, two meetings are coming up to present the latest updates, plus an opportunity to give input on a potential Houston Street name change.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which is currently undergoing renovations, was lowered in the latest design, affecting travel on the Jefferson Boulevard and Houston Street viaducts. The change came following a council request for cost savings in the convention center redesign and was maintained by a vote from council in June.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas Master Plan Community Town Hall Meeting will be held Tuesday, Sept. 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gilley’s – Lone Star Room. The town hall will present project updates, host an interactive exhibition hall, and a Q&A.
American Sign Language and Spanish interpretation will be available. To RSVP, click here. Additionally, you can submit questions for the KBHCCD Master Plan Question and Answer Panel here.
The second community meeting will discuss the future of the Houston and Jefferson viaducts and will take place Thursday, Oct. 1 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Methodist Dallas’s Hitt Auditorium. District 1 Council member Chad West, City staff, the Department of Convention and Event Services, and the Department of Transportation and Public Works will present an updated plan for the viaducts.
Lastly, council deferred an item on Wednesday, Sept. 9 to consider renaming the Houston Street bridge to Pettis Norman Bridge. The name change was proposed in March, but the vote earlier this month at council was delayed due to a sign and noticing error.
The item will come back to council with two options: the initial formal street name change request or a ceremonial street name change, which would instead add a sign with the name for 10 years. Residents can provide input on the option in this survey by Monday, Oct. 12.
