Whitewater feature construction Trinity River Project Dallas Texas

Whitewater park under construction on the Trinity River in Dallas Texas. Part of the Trinity River Project. Diversion channel and cofferdams for construction under the DART rail bridge near downtown.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Trinity River
• Dallas Texas
• flooding
• tornado
• canoeing
• kayaking
• whitewater
• brazos river
• guadalupe river
• Trinity River Project
• downtown
• levee
• fishing
• noodling
• hiking
• bike path
• rapids
• boating
• oak cliff
• offroad
• city park
• fair park
• flood
• corps of engineers
• moore park
• DART rail

[canoetexas]

Is this just south of the Corinth St. Bridge?

Looks like some nice whitewater.

[refidnasb1]

@canoetexas

Yes, its about 1/3 mile downstream from the Corinth Street Bridge. The diversion channel was a temporary sluice to allow construction of the Standing Wave in the permanent Trinity River Channel. The cofferdams were removed in late December 2010 and the Standing Wave became functional around New Years Day 2011. I tried it out myself on 1/3/2011. It was alot of fun. It will actually be a great spot for river surfing if the cfs gets cranking.

[Hnitida]

This is a disaster. Five people in kayaks and canoes put in at Sylvan boat ramp to go to Loop 12. All kayakers and canoeists turned over going through this very dangerous water hazard. One individual turned over got hung up on loose nylon sheeting and scraping his shoulder and bled all the way to Loop 12. All lost their water in the 102 degree heat and belongings. The City of Dallas, Trinity Trust, Trinity Commons and the Corps of Engineers, did not post warning signs of this danger.

[refidnasb1]

Hnitida,

Glad no one was seriously hurt. Approaching the diversion channel in a boat on the river it would be impossible to tell there was a hazard until it was too late. I guess I shot that video the same afternoon that the party of five had some misfortune in the channel. Large signs are now posted upstream from the bridge. Hopefully that will help river users steer clear of the troubled area. Some of the waves in the channel are 3-4 feet high. It is not a place for inexperienced boaters.

[kayakdaddy]

@jkfancher1

Basic boater safety. If you are unsure of what's around the corner and can't see, then get out and scout. Trees fall in rivers, rocks shift, rivers change. Yes, this is a man-made feature, but it's still your responsibility to scout when in doubt. If you aren't sure you can run it, then portage.

[Hnitida]

jkfancher1 glad you made it through and sorry for the unpleasant river trip. That is the point, whether a visitor to the city or frequent resident river traveler no one knew this was there, no signs, no warnings, nothing whether planned for the last 12 years or not, and oh, by the way, the plans have morphed many times. Imagine TxDOT working on a hidden sloped narrow curved road diversion and not letting the traffic know what was ahead. Kinda violates every established safety regulation..

[jkfancher1]

Okay, I was one of the 5 on that trip! The problem was that you could not know that the water was dangerous because you are not able to see around the corner of the diversion stream. Once you are in the diversion stream the water takes you where it wants...downstream!! Also, as we were just visitors to Dallas, we had no way of knowing that there was construction in the river. As for walking the canoes, look at the steep rocky embankments...they are not so walking friendly.

[Dallascaper]

@Hnitida

This has been in the planning stages for years - if you are going to live in the big city, you have to keep up with the changes.  Of course, you could have done what Lewis & Clark did - just walk your canoes over land until you reached safer water.