Between St. Johns Drive and Lakeside Drive, Wycliffe Avenue runs along the top of an earthen dam at Connor Lake. Over the next 20 months that dam comes out, and a bridge over Turtle Creek replaces it. On Sept. 15, the Highland Park Town Council approved a $22,205,303 construction contract with Rebcon, the low bidder. People Newspapers reported that work was set to begin in October and finish by June 2028, weather permitting.
The original concept for this corridor was drawn up in December 2024, and that isn't the version being built. Town engineers presented a revised plan in June 2025, after six months of meetings with a working group of residents from both Highland Park and Dallas. Many of the details you'll see when you drive or walk this stretch in 2028 came out of those meetings. The redesign shaped the finished street. The longer calendar is what everyone lives with while it gets built.
What Comes Out, and What Goes In
The Town's scope goes well beyond repaving. The June 18, 2025 Town Hall presentation lists the work:
- A bridge over Turtle Creek
- The earthen dam and its standpipe, replaced by a series of "drop" structures
- Improvements to the channel walls
- A new culvert on a tributary on the Dallas side
- Large water and sewer lines replaced, upsized or relocated
- Wycliffe rebuilt from Oak Lawn to the Town limits
- Franchise utilities relocated
- Landscaping and aesthetic improvements
The lake stays. Keeping Connor Lake at its existing water level was one of the project's stated non-negotiables, on the same list as conforming with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Nationwide Permit Program. Because the work crosses several jurisdictions, the presentation also lists six agencies that review it: TCEQ, FEMA, TxDOT, the Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Dallas and Dallas County.
The Version the Neighbors Redrew
The Town's FAQ says the project details couldn't be shared at first because the design was part of active legal discussions between several jurisdictions. Once the Town presented the concept at a late-2024 Town Hall, residents' feedback led to a working group. At a special council meeting on Dec. 17, 2024, residents raised concerns about the design, access, traffic and timing, People Newspapers reported.
The working group met four times in 2025, and each session had its own focus.
| Session | Focus | Stated goal |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 23, 2025 | Design options, project elements, design iterations | Group consensus on project elements |
| Feb. 6, 2025 | Construction sequencing, traffic counts and routing | Consensus on overall design |
| Feb. 20, 2025 | Aesthetics, moving the dam location, landscape and hardscape materials | Consensus on a new site plan concept |
| May 15, 2025 | New renderings, lane reduction options, traffic management | Consensus on lane reduction and the overall concept |
The Town Hall deck credits the group with these changes:
- Less concrete, and a better-looking weir and channel
- The weir moved closer to the bridge
- A fountain or water feature
- A sidewalk along Lakeside Drive
- Crosswalks at Lakeside and Wycliffe and at St. Johns and Wycliffe
- Lane reduction along Wycliffe
- Attention to resident access, emergency response, deliveries and provisions during storm events
The deck shows both site plans side by side, labeled "December 2024" and "June 2025." The Town's FAQ says many of the design elements were "thoughtfully influenced by residents of the Town and designated by legal necessity." For anyone who walks the Lakeside side of Connor Lake, the new sidewalk and the two crosswalks are the changes they'll use every day.
Three Lanes Become Two
The change that will reach the most people is the lane count. When the project is done, Wycliffe Avenue goes from three lanes to two. A dedicated left-turn lane will run across the bridge, much like the one there today.
Neighbors raised traffic concerns about the lane reduction, so the Town ran traffic modeling. The Town says that modeling shows "no significant change in traffic flow" with the new configuration. It has posted side-by-side simulations, one of existing conditions and one of the proposed two-lane layout, so you can watch both for yourself. The deck groups the lane reduction with "parkway enhancements." That means the space taken out of the road goes toward landscaping and pedestrian space beside it.
Twenty Months on a Calendar That Has Already Moved
The January 2026 start held through summer 2025 and then slipped twice. Here is the sequence:
- June 2025 Town Hall: Council approval in November 2025, construction from January 2026 through December 2027.
- August 2025: People Newspapers still reported a January 2026 start, with 20 to 24 months of work.
- The Town FAQ: Construction expected to begin in June 2026 and last about 20 to 24 months. The page still shows that date.
- September 2026: The contract was approved Sept. 15, with work slated for October and completion by June 2028.
Contract approval came about ten months after the date in the June 2025 plan, and the finish date moved from December 2027 to June 2028. The project's length held near 20 months the whole time. The window simply shifted later. Utility crews also went in early. Advance utility work on Fitzhugh Avenue, between a point just west of the Katy Trail and Oak Lawn Avenue, kept the road to one lane during work hours and two lanes outside them. AT&T was expected to finish in mid-July, with Oncor following, People Newspapers reported in June.
Long construction timelines came up at the same Sept. 15 meeting. Council Member Margaret Keliher voted against the Town's updated fee schedule and raised concerns about extended construction timelines and the disruption they cause residents, according to People Newspapers. The resolution passed. That night the council also authorized contracts for the Eastern Avenue and Douglas Avenue reconstruction projects and the 2026 drainage easement improvements, so Wycliffe will be one of several active work zones in town.
Who Pays, and Why Dallas and University Park Are Helping
Rebcon's bid came in at $22,205,303, and Highland Park taxpayers will cover about $6.2 million of it. The Town's FAQ says outside sources cover roughly 72 percent of an estimated $22 million cost. It names the partners as TxDOT through an 80/20 federal funding match, Dallas County through a 50/50 cost-sharing agreement, TCEQ through a grant toward design costs, and the cities of Dallas and University Park.
The Highland Park share has barely changed. In December 2024 the project was estimated at $21.83 million, with $6.132 million from the Town. Since then, the working group redesigned the corridor and the schedule moved twice, yet the total rose by less than $400,000 and the local share stayed near $6.2 million. With Dallas money and Dallas residents both part of the project, the bridge belongs to the neighbors on both sides of the Town line.
What to Expect at the Curb This Fall
Phased closures and restricted access are planned on portions of five streets: Wycliffe Avenue, Fitzhugh Avenue, St. Johns Drive, Lakeside Drive and Turtle Creek Boulevard. The Town says they won't all be closed at once and that it will post detours, signs and traffic control for each phase. The descriptions of the closed stretch differ by source. People Newspapers reported that Wycliffe would be closed between Abbott Avenue and Oak Lawn Avenue during the project. The Town describes the core dam and bridge work as the section between St. Johns and Lakeside.
Homes and businesses keep access. The Town has committed to keeping access open for mail and package delivery, utility services and visitor arrivals, immediate access for fire, police and EMS, and advance notice before access routes change. The Town Hall plan also calls for a full-time dedicated inspector, a dedicated owner's representative, regular progress meetings and site cleanup standards covering materials, equipment, site fencing and trash.
Detours will change from phase to phase, so check the Town's Wycliffe Avenue Reconstruction Project page for the current one before you change your route. That page will have the current closures through the June 2028 finish.
A 20-month dam-to-bridge rebuild on a lakefront corridor changes how buyers see the homes around it, both during construction and after. If you own near Connor Lake and want to talk about timing, presentation or how the redesigned Wycliffe could factor into a future sale, The Rosen Group is glad to walk the corridor with you. Request a private consultation and home valuation, and we'll start with what this project means for your street.
