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Dallas Branch Centennial: 1944-1953

In the early 1940's and the years leading up to WWII civil engineers were called on the support the war effort.  Many local engineers were drafted or enlisted in the armed services.  New and expanded airfields like the Dallas Naval Air Station, Love Field, and Meacham Field sprang up quickly to serve as training centers for personnel.  Manufacturing facilities for aircraft and their supporting needs grew up around these airfields. 

Denison Dam was completed in 1943. It contains a total of 18.8 million cubic yards of rolled-earth fill. It produces roughly 250,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, while Lake Texoma provides nearly 125,000 acre-feet of water storage for local communities.

Central Expressway (Phase I) was initiated and designed to accommodate the growing population boom in Dallas. Construction started along the Houston and Texas Central Railroad right-of-way after decades of resistance from Southern Pacific. The alignment routed the new freeway though a Freedman’s Town and Cemetery displacing more than 1,500 residents. Parts of Central Expressway were opened by 1950. The route from Downtown to Mockingbird Lane was fully functional by the end of 1952.

Photo: Dallas Municipal Archives