Dallas’ Continental Avenue Bridge was officially dedicated to Ron Kirk, the city’s first and only elected black mayor.
The “largest gathering of current and former Dallas City Council members ever assembled” was on hand to see Kirk accept the honor on the pedestrian bridge in the heart of Dallas Saturday morning.
Dedicating the bridge in Kirk’s name was a years-long endeavor that came together this year. The Trinity River Project Committee heard a proposal for the name change in April, and the city council approved it with a vote last month.
Kirk’s political impact is both state- and nationwide. He served as the 97th secretary of state in Texas, then two terms as the 57th mayor of Dallas.
He would later become President Barack Obama’s U.S. trade representative, serving in that role from 2009-13.
What is now called the Ronald Kirk Bridge was first named the Lamar-McKinney Viaduct when it was built over eight decades ago. It has since been converted to a pedestrian crossing as part of city initiative to improve the Trinity River Corridor, and was placed on the National Historic Register.
