UME Prep Class Example – Rough Draft Report
The Case for the MHH
Bridge in Dallas
– Yes or No?
Truth or Fiction? What will it really cost?
Howard J. Rattliff, Jr.
Jan 2014
DRAFT ONLY – For Class Project Discussion – An example format for the 5 page max format.
Title: Case Study #2 – The Project Case Study – Truth or Fiction? What will it really cost? .
Author: Howard J. Rattliff , Jr. – UME Instructor
Abstract: A hundred years ago, Citizens and city leaders of Dallas and throughout this last century have been
dreaming of creating a special place known as the Trinity River. The major bridge construction project known as
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, /MHH Bridge’ was recently open to the public in April 2012 amid much fanfare and
celebration in Dallas however much of the original plans are being questioned and funding and the cost to complete
is questionable. The questions remain ‘ How much will the complete project cost and is the vision of the
MHH Bridge and the Trinity Vision new opportunity for Dallas. Is the recent completion and opening o f
MHH Bridge the end or just the beginning of a wonderful multiphase project that will serve the city
well or just mire the city in debt? This case study will present an assessment of the project and provide
overall expectations based upon past performance result on the project, future funding as well as
other influencing factors to access whether the project was successful to date and will be successful as
the remaining work continues amid budgetary constraints.
Figure 1 - The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
Executive Summary:
Based upon the analysis presented here the following conclusions can be made:
1. The project is severely underfunded by multiple parties.
2. The 2nd bridge may get funded due to the need however the 3rd bridge is very unlikely
3. The overall impact is expected to be positive as Dallas develops the Uptown and Downtown
living experience and the Arts District/AA Center and DART to connect more to enhance the
Central City Metro Area experience of visitors and residence alike.
Background: The MMH Bridge is recognized by architects and the construction industry as the most dramatic
addition to the Dallas skyline in recent memory. The design as presented by visionary architect and engineer
Santiago Calatravai comes in the form of a parabolic pylon of gleaming white steel. Rising 400 feet above the banks
of the Trinity River, it acts as the central support for the recently completed (April 2012) Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge-named for the late philanthropist. The Margaret Hunt Hill MHH) Bridge is the 1st of three (3) bridges
planned by the City of Dallas as part of its “Trinity River Corridor Project”, the umbrella
development that is used to oversees the development and construction of the bridges as
DRAFT ONLY – For Class Project Discussion – An example format for the 5 page max format.
well as the park and green spaces planned as part of this major multi-billion dollar
infrastructure project.
The research and analysis were based upon the news, and regional (Texas) industry and trade publications.
Searches were based upon Key Terms:
Subject Terms: Margaret Hunt Hill, Bridge, Geographic Terms::
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction as well as KEY Individual and Organizational NAMEs
Price cut was based on value engineer
trades initiated in 2005 but still over t
city’s should or expected cost plannin
baseline. Williams used foreign steel (
Costruzioni Metalliche of Pordenone, I
and adopted other trades to predict m
cost savings on the project and get wi
the cost target at $69 million-.
The Contract
Cost
MHH COST
(USD) ref
2)
Initial
Final
[1]
Architect’s Estimate
to Build
$
57,000,000.00
$
57,000,000.00
Contractor Bids or
Estimates of Total
Cost
% Percent + or -
$
113,000,000.00
+49.56%
$
69,000,000.00
+17.39%
Texas Construction- September 1, 2007 SECTION: Highway;
Pg. 27 Vol. 15 No. 9
entitled: Calmer Waters for Trinity Bridges;
Dallas' Calatrava Bridge Overcomes Delays, Design Changes ; author
Schedule
Annie Koo
DRAFT ONLY – For Class Project Discussion – An example format for the 5 page max format.
Project Performance
Points of Contacts and Responsibilities:
1. Rebecca Dugger, director of the Trinity River Corridor Project, the umbrella
development that oversees the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.
Table of the Contractors on the project
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
Owner: Texas Department of Transportation, Dallas Area
District
Architect: Santiago Calatrava LLC, New York
GC: Williams Bros. Construction, Houston
Structural Engineer: Huitt-Zollars Inc., Dallas
Civil Engineer: Chiang, Patel, & Yerby Inc., Dallas
(Placeholder1)
Discussion and Analysis:
Note for Houston Chronicle
`Handmade' bridgeii
DRAFT ONLY – For Class Project Discussion – An example format for the 5 page max format.
Dallas voters approved $246 million for an array of Trinity River projects in 1998, but
proponents have said from the outset that the lake and bridge designs could cost far
more than the city and other public entities contemplated spending.
Federal and state money for the first bridge - totaling approximately $20 million - is the
same amount that would have been spent on a "plain vanilla" freeway bridge on piers,
said Bill Hale, the state highway department's Dallas district engineer.
He said the rising cost of steel and the unique design of the bridge, with its central,
paper-clip-shaped tower, combined to drive up the bids. "This is handmade, like a
handmade set of boots. It gets expensive," iii
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, a private donor name change from the original Woodall
Rodgers Freeway Extension, will provide direct freeway access to downtown. The site's
only current but rarely trafficked roadway, the Continental Avenue Viaduct, which does
not have access to freeways, will become a pedestrian and bicycle thoroughfare according
to Dugger.
The bridge is one of three in the master plan of the Trinity River Corridor Project, a
development to revitalize the desolate floodplain that divides West Dallas and Oakcliff
from the downtown cityscape. Though the adjacent bridges are considered necessary for
traffic relief, Dallas' choice for expensive, Santiago Calatrava-designed bridges was more
a matter of branding the city with the architect's international acclaim.
"Construction was in the works regardless of whether they look pretty," insists Dugger,
who says an infrastructural study from 1997 predates the $69 million Margaret Hunt Hill
Bridge.
The second bridge, also by Calatrava, is 65-90% designed, says Dugger, who expects to
see initial plans by the end of the year. It will widen and replace the existing IH-30
bridge, which, unlike the Continental Avenue Viaduct, is heavily used and poses more
difficult traffic issues.
The third bridge which is intended to replace and increase capacity on the IH-35 bridge
which is over 50-year-old, has neither funding nor has substantial planning been started
by the City of Dallas or TxDOT.
Additional public resources with up to date project information can be found at the two rightmost web
links provided below:
For additional information on the entire Trinity River Corridor Project or
to find the latest construction updates on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge,
visit:
* City of Dallas Trinity River Corridor
* Woodall Rodgers Extension, Project
Project
trinityrivercorridor.org
projectpegasus.org/wre.htm
Pegasus,
DRAFT ONLY – For Class Project Discussion – An example format for the 5 page max format.
Dallas
thetrinitytrust.org/
* The Trinity Trust
iv
References and Sources:
i
Architectural Digest; Mar2012, Vol. 69 Issue 3, p37-1, 1p Author By SAMUEL COCHRAN
The Houston Chronicle- Dallas Bureau July 30, 2006 Sunday 4 STAR EDITION Dallas bridges may
be too grand; Idea to renew look of skyline hits money snag
BYLINE: THOMAS KOROSEC, , Staff
iiii
The Houston Chronicle- Dallas Bureau July 30, 2006 Sunday 4 STAR EDITION Dallas bridges may
be too grand; Idea to renew look of skyline hits money snag
BYLINE: THOMAS KOROSEC, , Staff
iiiiii
iv
Texas Construction- September 1, 2007
SECTION: Highway; Pg. 27 Vol. 15 No. 9
entitled: Calmer Waters for Trinity Bridges;
Dallas' Calatrava Bridge Overcomes Delays, Design Changes ; author
Annie Koo