DALLAS -- The dream of rebuilding the Trinity River into the crown jewel of Dallas has been a project years in the making. But it could take even longer now because of a lawsuit hundreds of miles away.
A judge recently ruled in a major lawsuit that the Army Corps of Engineers -- which built the levees in New Orleans -- were responsible for Hurricane Katrina's flooding, not Mother Nature.
Lawyer Clinton David said the landmark ruling could have a major impact in Dallas, where the Corps must approve new bridges as well as a highway along the Trinity River.
"It completely changes how the Corps of Engineers is going to do business in the future," David said. "It's got to slow them down. How could it not?"
The Corps sharply downgraded Dallas' levees and ordered crews building the Woodall Rodgers extension to stop work along the dikes because they were worried that the new pillars might weaken the levees and put the city at risk of flooding.
The Texas Department of Transportation continues to build the bridge, but it can't work on the part that touches the levees until the Corps says so.
Time is ticking. The state needs an answer by next week, or the project's price tag (and resulting delays) will skyrocket.
"I think they understand our project," said Rebecca Rasor, the Trinity River Corridor project manager. "They understand our project is not like New Orleans."
But Corps officials said safety is now its top priority, and won't commit on whether they will allow work to resume.
"There is no decision yet, and we are working to ensure -- if we approve them -- they will be done in such a way as they don't affect the levee system," said Corps spokesman Kevin Craig.
City leaders insist the bridge will be finished, but critics worry how many delays the projects can afford before Dallas' vision fades into the past.
E-mail jbetz@wfaa.com
