Sylvan Avenue Improvements

Sylvan Avenue needed to be upgraded from its 1930’s-era infrastructure to address 21st century demands. The City of Dallas asked Walter P Moore to plan updates from the I-30 westbound frontage road to Fort Worth Avenue.

This project changed the six-lane roadway to a four-lane street, incorporating on-street parking and bicycle lanes. Our team and the city worked closely together to coordinate with the adjacent proposed mixed-use development that was a driving force behind design choices and schedule. Due to an adjacent development, the schedule took an abrupt change that required the design to progress from 60% to final in six weeks. Walter P Moore met this accelerated schedule with frequent meetings and coordination with the City and the developer.

Several Dallas water utilities lines were replaced, as was a 20-inch water line dating back to at least the 1930s. This required replacement and connection to an intersecting 16-inch water line from 1934. Two wastewater lines that were built in the 1930s and 1950s were replaced and connections provided to the new mixed-use development and existing businesses.

Additional challenges and a design revision came during construction to accommodate the adjacent development where elevations of the paving, buildings and sanitary sewer were constructed even lower than anticipated. The street profile and sanitary sewer main were lowered over more than half of the project length, requiring extension of the reconstruction limits into a bank parking lot on the west side of the street.

The improvements provide users with a roadway that meets current standards and enhances adjacent developments.