No, Oak Cliff viaducts will not be torn down. What to know as Dallas keeps convention center plan
By Megan Cardona
June 24, 2026 at 7:44 PM CDT
A majority of Dallas City Council voted to prevent a redesign — and the further setback — of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Wednesday. The vote means the roads leading to the Jefferson Boulevard and Houston Street viaducts will be rerouted to accommodate the renovated building height.
An initiative to maintain the viaduct routes called "Save the Bridge" started last week. Dallas resident Brett Shipp, a former investigative reporter for WFAA-TV, said he and other volunteers walked along Jefferson holding signs and passing out flyers to raise awareness about the plan.
He told KERA that many of the people he saw were people of color and service industry workers.
He said the bridge was how those workers got to work on time every day.
There was some confusion among Wednesday's speakers, with some under the impression that the viaducts were under threat of being closed or torn down completely — which is not the case.
Houston is planned to become a pedestrian greenway. Jefferson, the only viaduct of the two for vehicular traffic, would have a ramp down to Hotel Street going around the Convention Center to Reunion Boulevard and then to Young Street. The reroute will keep the same amount of lanes.
City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert told council members ahead of Wednesday's meeting that redesigning the building to accommodate the viaducts would add labor, equipment, and time to the project. It would have also set the project back by an additional $597 million.
Some Dallas residents and hospitality industry professionals also warned against further delaying the convention center.
Craig Davis, president and CEO of Visit Dallas, told council members that the city has lost $92 million in convention lodging and $13.7 million in local taxes since the convention center closed for renovations last year. He added that the 2030 delay would cost the city $2 billion in spending.
Traci Mayer, Hotel Association of North Texas executive director, said workers in the hospitality industry knew what to expect when the convention center closed for renovations.
She said they willingly accepted loss of business and shift cuts because they believed in the renovation timeline.
"Another year of reduced hours and uncertainty will have a direct negative impact on our workforce," Mayer said. "These challenges are not small, the struggle is real and deeply felt by the people who rely on us for their livelihoods."
The city has worked for months on a plan to change traffic patterns for the viaducts to better accommodate the convention center.
The Jefferson viaduct was originally planned to go underneath the renovated convention center, but city staff were asked to lower costs as the price tag for the expansion reached $3.5 billion.
The building height was lowered by two stories to save $500 million. Now the convention center’s first floor will be above ground level, at the same height as the Jefferson viaduct. Because the roadway can no longer go under the building, it will have to be rerouted.
Engineering consultants have said the new route could increase travel time by two minutes in the morning.
Morning peak travel between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. could see as much as a ten minute increase in travel time during construction. Consultants reduced that estimate by about 25%, assuming travelers will choose different routes because of congestion.
Oak Cliff residents were especially concerned about the reroute plan because the viaducts serve as a direct connection into downtown.
A town hall was one of the only public engagement initiatives for the project and happened after the reroute plan was presented to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting in May. City staff initially planned to start public engagement on the program after thoroughfare amendments were submitted.
Several council members, including Zarin Gracey, told staff that confusion over the viaducts could have been prevented with more community outreach.
"We've got to start huddling up and rolling these things out in a way that the public understands it, it doesn't feel nefarious, there's no room for any accusations and everyone feels like they were included in that," Gracey said.
Lack of community outreach has been an issue on other recent topics including the debate on Dallas City Hall.
But Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson said it was council members' responsibility to conduct community outreach, not staff.
Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you!
An initiative to maintain the viaduct routes called "Save the Bridge" started last week. Dallas resident Brett Shipp, a former investigative reporter for WFAA-TV, said he and other volunteers walked along Jefferson holding signs and passing out flyers to raise awareness about the plan.
He told KERA that many of the people he saw were people of color and service industry workers.
He said the bridge was how those workers got to work on time every day.
There was some confusion among Wednesday's speakers, with some under the impression that the viaducts were under threat of being closed or torn down completely — which is not the case.
Houston is planned to become a pedestrian greenway. Jefferson, the only viaduct of the two for vehicular traffic, would have a ramp down to Hotel Street going around the Convention Center to Reunion Boulevard and then to Young Street. The reroute will keep the same amount of lanes.
City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert told council members ahead of Wednesday's meeting that redesigning the building to accommodate the viaducts would add labor, equipment, and time to the project. It would have also set the project back by an additional $597 million.
Some Dallas residents and hospitality industry professionals also warned against further delaying the convention center.
Craig Davis, president and CEO of Visit Dallas, told council members that the city has lost $92 million in convention lodging and $13.7 million in local taxes since the convention center closed for renovations last year. He added that the 2030 delay would cost the city $2 billion in spending.
Traci Mayer, Hotel Association of North Texas executive director, said workers in the hospitality industry knew what to expect when the convention center closed for renovations.
She said they willingly accepted loss of business and shift cuts because they believed in the renovation timeline.
"Another year of reduced hours and uncertainty will have a direct negative impact on our workforce," Mayer said. "These challenges are not small, the struggle is real and deeply felt by the people who rely on us for their livelihoods."
The city has worked for months on a plan to change traffic patterns for the viaducts to better accommodate the convention center.
The Jefferson viaduct was originally planned to go underneath the renovated convention center, but city staff were asked to lower costs as the price tag for the expansion reached $3.5 billion.
The building height was lowered by two stories to save $500 million. Now the convention center’s first floor will be above ground level, at the same height as the Jefferson viaduct. Because the roadway can no longer go under the building, it will have to be rerouted.
Engineering consultants have said the new route could increase travel time by two minutes in the morning.
Morning peak travel between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. could see as much as a ten minute increase in travel time during construction. Consultants reduced that estimate by about 25%, assuming travelers will choose different routes because of congestion.
Oak Cliff residents were especially concerned about the reroute plan because the viaducts serve as a direct connection into downtown.
A town hall was one of the only public engagement initiatives for the project and happened after the reroute plan was presented to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting in May. City staff initially planned to start public engagement on the program after thoroughfare amendments were submitted.
Several council members, including Zarin Gracey, told staff that confusion over the viaducts could have been prevented with more community outreach.
"We've got to start huddling up and rolling these things out in a way that the public understands it, it doesn't feel nefarious, there's no room for any accusations and everyone feels like they were included in that," Gracey said.
Lack of community outreach has been an issue on other recent topics including the debate on Dallas City Hall.
But Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson said it was council members' responsibility to conduct community outreach, not staff.
Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you!