Richardson’s DART Silver Line crossing over US 75 has finally acquired its big visual flourish: two 400-foot steel arches now frame the bridge, turning a long construction project into something drivers can actually recognize. The north-side arch was finished Monday, and the bridge is now entering its final makeover with blue-and-white accent lighting planned for the arches and concrete columns. For once, a freeway landmark is being designed to be noticed on purpose.
The work is part of DART’s Silver Line crossing just south of President George Bush Turnpike, according to Community Impact. Each arch rises about 80 feet above the roadway at its highest point, creating what Richardson mobility program manager Daniel Herrig previously described as a “visual gateway” into the city. The installations required overnight closures on US 75 and nearby roads while crews lifted the massive steel sections into place.
Lighting Work Will Continue Through The Next Two Months
According to a release from the City of Richardson, crews will spend the next two months installing white-and-blue accent lights. The city says the lighting is intended to create a distinctive gateway into Richardson and reinforce the city’s visual identity for both rail passengers and drivers on US 75. The finishing work should give the bridge a much more deliberate presence after months of looking like another piece of North Texas construction machinery.
The bridge is one piece of DART’s 26-mile Silver Line regional rail project, which serves Plano, Richardson, Dallas, Addison, Carrollton, Coppell and Grapevine, according to DART. Richardson has two Silver Line stations, CityLine/Bush and UT Dallas, and the route connects with DART’s existing rail network and Trinity Metro’s TEXRail. The arches do not change the route, but they give one of its most visible Richardson structures a civic signature.
The Highway View Is About To Change
Drivers got the noisy part of this design first, with nighttime closures used while cranes installed the arches. Now the city has not announced road closures for the lighting phase, Community Impact reported. Once the lights come on, the bridge should read less like leftover transit construction and more like Richardson’s new front door.
