The Katy Trail is getting better, and so is Dallas

The Katy Trail is getting longer, and that’s good news for all of us.

The south end of the trail on Houston Street near the American Airlines Center has been under construction for the last year. The Loop Plaza will be the “front porch” of Dallas’ 50-mile trail system and is expected to open in August. The plaza will transform what is currently a 12-foot retaining wall along Houston Street into an elevated pedestrian and bike bridge. 

The Katy Trail is an iconic people highway in Dallas that draws walkers, runners, cyclists and rollerskaters. Its success has changed everything around it. The Loop will maintain the vibrancy and activity of the trail and make the area more pedestrian-friendly. 

We need more public spaces that prioritize pedestrians and make it easier and safer to navigate the city on foot.

Right now, there’s a gap in the trail. The Katy Trail cuts off at the AAC. Continuing on to other trails is not easy.  

The Loop will help fix that. 

When it is finished, The Loop will fill the gap between trails. The plaza will feature a bridge that continues the Katy Trail, passing over a ramp that leads down to the street level where trailgoers can continue their journey on the Hi Line Connector, a one-mile trail that opened a year and a half ago that merges into the Trinity Strand Trail in the Design District.  

Connecting the puzzle pieces of Dallas’ trails is a big step forward in realizing a major vision for our city. 

Philip Haigh, executive director of The Loop Dallas, told us work on the plaza started in January 2025. Construction has taken a little longer than anticipated because of how narrow the site is. The area where the bridge will connect the Katy Trail to the underpass is about 40 feet wide. 

At the end of May, a temporary path that skirts around the construction area opened on the Katy Trail. The gravel path with string lights that illuminate the way in the mornings and evenings is easier to navigate than going down the steep slope to get to the street level. 

A banner by the workout equipment at the south end of the Katy Trail advertises the plaza’s opening this summer and construction crews are out turning dirt, signs that the project is almost complete. 

The Loop is just one piece of Dallas’ trail improvements. The citywide project will join 39 miles of existing trails with 11 miles of new trails. We all need to spend more time outside. More reasons to walk instead of getting in a car are good news. 

We’ll see you out on the Katy Trail.

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