Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has named the Northaven Trail as the “Dallas Mayor’s Park of the Month” for May.
Johnson made the announcement through a Twitter post on May 31, emphasizing the trail’s importance for the Dallas Parks and Recreation system.
“Mayor’s #ParkoftheMonth for May is the @NorthavenTrail! While it isn’t a traditional park, the trail is a key part of the @DallasParkRec system,” Johnson tweeted. “Earlier this month, I spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Northaven Trail bridge. Looking forward to seeing it completed!”
Johnson, who joined other Dallas officials on May 17 to commemorate the groundbreaking for the new Northaven Trail bridge over U.S. Highway 75 (US 75), also emphasized the critical role that local trails had in maintaining personal health and social connections during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“In the past year, I’m a personal witness and I know many of you are as well, that our trails helped us endure the COVID pandemic,” Johnson said. “They gave us a place to exercise, a place to safely congregate and see family and friends and neighbors.”
Calvert Collins-Bratton, president of the Dallas Park and Recreation Board, discussed the events leading up to the groundbreaking of the Northaven Trail bridge.
“The idea for the Northaven Trail began in the 1990s but didn’t begin construction until a decade later,” Collins-Bratton told the Dallas Express. “The first phase was from Valleydale (by the Jewish Community Center) to Preston Road, but there were always plans to extend it further east and west. The westward expansions were finished last year and now the trail goes all the way to the Walnut Hill DART station near Love Field.
The Northaven Trail Bridge is scheduled to open in 2023 and will connect the Northaven Trail, located west of Central Expressway, to trails on the east side of Highway 75.
The project was approved earlier this year by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Currently, the route stretches from US 75 to Denton Drive.
Additionally, the bridge was developed in collaboration with the City of  Dallas, Dallas County, the Texas Department of Transportation and Friends of the Northaven Trail.
