Continental Avenue Bridge

its the design for the dallas floodway project bridges. i have more pictures on Commerce Street

You'll often see beam splices in the same location due to the lower moment there. Interesting that they extended the concrete out to that region.

Photo #108 shows the fascinating design of this bridge where concrete t-beams are cantilevered out to meet riveted steel girders, also cantilevered!

Little Late on this conversation but older bridges crossing the floodplain in dallas were called viaducts. Lamar Street Viaduct was the original name for the Continental Avenue Bridge just like the Houston St Viaduct and Commerce St Viaduct. modern crossing of the floodplain have adopted the term bridges like Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and including the renamed continental viaduct which is called Ronald Kirk Bridge

For comparison, in Chicago, the Chicago River is the Chicago River, even though sections of it have been completely realigned and relocated. So without knowing Dallas history, I would say calling it the Trinity River was the right move.

Patrick -

I concur with you current assessment but the historic name and context should not be disregarded so accordingly I have re-entered that in the "Also Called" section.

Also, I believe current nomenclature for the diversion channel includes "Trinity River Corridor," "Greenbelt Park" and "Dallas Floodway." Those variations are often subjective by the user as to whether they want to see it paved, benefit recreation, or left alone.

Thank you, MC

Calling the Trinity River as it runs south of Dallas the "Trinity River Diversion Channel" is not only cartographically inaccurate, but it doesn't reflect the situation as mapped and as referred to by either locals, officials, the media or others.

Where it can still be discerned, the old Trinity River channel is referred to, on maps and otherwise, as the "Old Trinity River Channel", thus receiving its due historic recognition.

Similar concerns for cartographic, media and common usage require that the bridge be called by its name, Continental Avenue Bridge, not Continental Avenue Viaduct.

- Patrick

Patrick -

Thank you for the added name information and great photos on all these historic viaducts.

I know Trinity River Diversion Channel is a bit awkward but I think it is important to distinguish between the natural channel which resumes just below Corinth Street and still exists in numerous other segments outside the levees.

I believe the relatively recent change in referring to the Continental Viaduct as a Bridge was so it did not diminish the new Margaret Hunt Hill "Calatrava" Signature Bridge immediately south.

While the Trinity here is not the original channel, Dallas, maps, and the NBI still call it the Trinity River.

The current name that Dallas uses for the bridge is "Continental Avenue Bridge".

http://dallascontinentalbridge.com/