Trinity River Corridor Project Update Council Trinity River Committee February 20, 2007 Table of Contents Trinity Parkway/Lakes Design Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge IH-30 Bridge Dallas Floodway Extension Interior Drainage Elm Fork Initiatives Trinity River Audubon Center TXU Transmission Lines In Progress Planning & Economic Development Legislative Update 2 Trinity Parkway/Lakes Design Meeting held on Jan. 23rd to discuss issues with moving Parkway away from levee Consultants have developed a scenario to accommodate this movement Minimal impact to the lakes surface area Maintains Trinity River alignment under UP Railroad trestle Increases the size of the island feature Includes an extended promenade on the upper end of the lake Options were discussed to allow for the river realignment construction to begin in fall 2008 3 Impact of Parkway Shift Away from the Levee y Original Design – Close to Levee 1800' 1350' 200' 250' 500' MIN. 100' RIVER URBAN LAKE PARKWAY 300' MIN. 210' 200' MIN. 500' 100' GREEN/UTILITY CORRIDOR ISLAND PROMENADE MIN. 120’ 4 Impact of Parkway Shift Away from the Levee y New Design 1800' 1280' -110' 130' 250' 500' MIN. 100' RIVER URBAN LAKE PARKWAY 230' MIN. 210' 200' MIN. 500' 100' GREEN/UTILITY CORRIDOR ISLAND PROMENADE -110' 5 Impact of Parkway Shift Away from the Levee Consultants came up with two scenarios Alternative A – simply slides everything over the required amount, in order to fit the Parkway underneath the bridge bays Alternative A’ – “tweaks” Alternative A slightly Maintains the river alignment under the UP Railroad trestle Extends the promenade around the upper end of the Urban Lake Allows for more meandering opportunity for the river Both alternatives increase the size of the island Consultants recommended Alternative A’ for the river alignment opportunities and promenade extension 6 Alternative A E AK L L RA TU NA VIADUCT AL T UR BAN LAKE CONTIE MARGET HUNILBD TRINITY RIVER 500 0 500 1000 SCALE OF FEET 7 Alternative A’ I J - E 3 5 F . F . E R I R -3 B . S 5 T O S H S O N R L . U E B T S A G L S T T V O O D N E R N . E C L S N R I L T E T . A N M D O M O C O O C W E AK L L RA TU NA 0 3 - I VIADUCT VIADUCT AL AL T T U RBAN CONTIE CONTIE LA MARGET HUNILBD K MARGET HUNILBD E T RIN ITY RI VER 500 0 500 1000 SCALE OF FEET 8 Comparison of Alternatives by Acreage Urban Lake Natural Lake Parkland Island Feature BVP 83 61 136 56 Alt. A 78 50 96 82 Alt. A’ 79 49 91 81 9 NTTA/Corps Issues Primacy – Corps contends that primary floodway purpose is for flood conveyance/protection If levee failure occurs (on Parkway side), Corps wants to reserve right to remove Parkway sections in order to repair levees Reconstruction of Parkway would be at the expense of NTTA NTTA concerned with affect of this language in the EIS on bond holders FHWA & Corps are working on language mutually acceptable to both parties NTTA & FHWA heads will meet in Washington, D.C. in February 2007 Head of FHWA was formerly with Corps Uniquely positioned to understand both systems and EIS processes Ramping Corps concerned with ramps to connect the Parkway to bridges for cross streets: Number and location of pier penetrations Impact on top of levees NTTA consultants are reworking the ramping configurations to best locate piers and keep numbers to a minimum, and also avoid linear impacts on levee tops 10 NTTA/Corps Issues Corps Changing Guidelines Corps has indicated that their guidelines involving construction in and around levees may be changing in the near future NTTA is concerned that their current efforts to use existing guidelines will be negated by the new guidelines. NTTA & FHWA heads (Washington, D.C. meeting in February) to discuss this issue as well NTTA hopes to get a waiver or exception to prevent further modification of their current plans 11 Parkway EIS Schedule Agency review of Supplemental Draft EIS – April 2007 Public Hearing Process for SDEIS (61 days) 30 day advertisement period – begin in June 2007 1 day public hearing – in July 2007 30 day public comment period – ending in August 2007 City Council/NTTA Board Selection of Locally Preferred Alignment – September 2007 Agency review of final EIS – begins February 2008 12 Parkway EIS Schedule (cont.) Public Hearing Process for FEIS (61 days) 30 day advertisement period – begin in April 2008 1 day public hearing – in May 2008 30 day public comment period – ending in June 2008 Record of Decision – August 2008 Construction could begin on river relocation, which provides dirt for Parkway bench – September 2008 Detailed design of Parkway can begin – September 2008 Construction start – estimated 2010 Construction completion – estimated 2013 13 Dallas Floodway EIS Schedule Review Parkway hydraulic model – March 2007 Assess range of project alternatives for potential federal interest (cost-sharing) – April 2007 Feasibility Scoping Meeting (lays out City’s desires for cost-sharing opportunities with the Corps) – July 2007 Draft EIS – May 2008 Public Hearing and end of Public Comment Period – by end of June 2008 Final EIS – August 2008 14 Dallas Floodway EIS Schedule (cont.) Initiate detailed design of lakes/amenities/levee raise – August 2008 River relocation construction – September 2008 Request for General Construction Funding for Corps – October 2008 Agency review of Final EIS – January 2009 Record of Decision – March 2009 Lakes/amenities/levee raise construction – estimated 2010 Completion of lakes construction – estimated 2013 Note: It is estimated that the timely passage of WRDA bill could shorten this schedule by as much as 3 months. 15 Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Williams Bros. has signed the contracts with TxDOT Pre-construction meeting to be held in mid-February (TBD); will determine construction sequencing (approaches first vs. steel fabrication) Contractor hopes to begin construction in mid-March 16 IH-30 Bridge Preliminary cost estimates are being developed by local consultants Consultants continue to work towards 95% construction documents Award date for IH-30 Bridge Widening is set for August 2007 Preliminary construction to add HOV lane Widening will facilitate construction Traffic will be routed to widened section while half of bridge is demolished Half of signature bridge will be constructed; traffic will be routed to that section while other half is demolished, constructed Widening estimated be complete in late 2008/early 2009 Signature Bridge contract can be awarded before bridge widening is complete such that construction is continuous Steel fabrication can begin Construction on signature portion can begin as soon as widening and half-bridge demolition is complete Bridge constructed expected to be complete in 2011 17 Dallas Floodway Extension Lower chain of wetlands construction is underway and ahead of schedule Cell “D” is complete; Cells “E”, “F” and “G” (at Sleepy Hollow) are expected to be operational (complete with flowing water) by September 2007 River was relocated under the IH-45 bridge in November 2006; backfill of former river channel should be complete by March 2007 (weather permitting) Upper Chain of Wetlands construction could begin in late 2008 Levees could begin construction in 2010 18 Dallas Floodway Extension Lower Chain of Wetlands Cell “D” complete; Cells “E”, “F” & “G” under construction 19 Dallas Floodway Extension River is flowing through a “bridge” made of pipes; allows trucks to cross and backfill the former river channel 20 Dallas Floodway Extension Funding Total estimated project cost is $154 million Includes $10 million spent on EIS Includes design, construction and right-of-way City bond funds for this project total $24.7 million Federal funding received to date - $66 million Federal funding spent to date - $65 million FY 2007 – estimated $5 – 13 million Proposed ask for FY 2008 - $23 million (Corps’ expressed capability) Proposed ask for FY 2009 – FY 2012 is the estimated remaining $27.3 - 35.3 million Annual asks will be determined by FY 2007 appropriations, Corps’ expressed capability in future years, availability of federal funding and construction costs and schedules 21 Interior Drainage East Levee Interior Drainage Study is complete West Levee Interior Drainage Study nearing completion Request for Proposals is out now for design of the stormwater outfall extensions (extending the East Levee outfalls further out into the floodway to accommodate the movement of the river); contract expected to be awarded in May/June 2007 Construction could begin in late 2008 22 Stormwater Outfall Extensions Three interior drainage points would have to be extended and routed under the lakes to the river channel by using buried culverts. 23 Elm Fork Initiatives Detailed design is underway for a 100-year levee at Manana and Spangler and a chain of wetlands near the Elm Fork & NW Hwy; Design should be completed by the end of 2007 Construction could begin in early 2008 Environmental assessments are underway for the old landfill site where the Soccer complex is to be located 24 Manana/Spangler Levee 25 Trinity River Corridor Project Elm Fork Athletic Complex Walnut Hill & IH-35 Master planning complete Converts old landfill into useable space Design begins late 2007 Construction start in 2009 26 Trinity River Audubon Center Facility design by local firm BRW and renowned architect Antoine Predock awarded for construction on February 14th Park Dept. expects construction to begin in March 2007 Ceremonial groundbreaking by National Audubon Society is being planned for May 2007 27 Trinity River Audubon Center 28 TXU Transmission Lines Mayor Laura Miller and Rebecca Dugger provided testimony in Austin at an Administrative Hearing on November 16, 2006 City and TXU both agree on the alignment going down Irving Blvd.