{"id":187262,"date":"2026-03-02T21:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/187262\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:01:07","slug":"susan-morgan-bridges-built-lessons-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/187262\/","title":{"rendered":"Susan Morgan: Bridges built, lessons learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jenny Thompson, Melissa Duffield, Susan Morgan and Jenny Littlefield<\/p>\n

Susan Morgan visited Lake Highlands Women\u2019s League<\/a> members last week to discuss her new book, Build a Bridge to Somewhere: A Guide to Community Volunteering<\/a>. She shared lessons learned from two decades leading the charge to raise the new Skillman Street Arch Bridge over LBJ Freeway.<\/p>\n

Austin Wood has written a great piece about the nuts and bolts of that journey, so watch for Advocate\u2019s March issue to hit your front porch. I won\u2019t duplicate his fine work, but I will share some of Morgan\u2019s takeaways about leadership, volunteerism and perseverance. Her lessons were hard-won.<\/p>\n

And, like most good stories, this one began with a good-natured buttinsky.<\/p>\n

Morgan and a few other volunteers were wrapping up a planning meeting at Cindi\u2019s New York Deli during the early days of their work on the LBJ-Skillman Interchange Task Force and brainstorming ways to improve the hourglass-shaped dual intersections at Skillman and Audelia. With the help of engineers, transportation experts and other knowledgeable minds, they\u2019d concluded that a \u201cflyover bridge\u201d across I-635 East was the best solution. That\u2019s when a man seated at another table made his way over and apologized for eavesdropping.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Tip Housewright<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a commercial architect living in Lake Highlands, and you don\u2019t want a flyover bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

His helpful intrusion began a long and beneficial relationship which resulted in his drafting the plan for our neighborhood\u2019s \u201cSkillman Spaghetti Bowl\u201d replacement: two perpendicular intersections \u2014 one north and one south of LBJ. Instead of traffic \u201cflying over\u201d and killing community retail, area businesses would keep their vital visibility.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarah Walne Hefton\u2019s father, Alan, was D10 Councilman when Morgan began her journey to build the bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we know about Lake Highlands? If you need help, people are willing to help you,\u201d Morgan recognized over and over again during the 20-year process required to bring the bridge to fruition. \u201cI was amazed that people that just raised their hand and said, \u2018Oh, sure, I can help you with that.\u2019 If it\u2019s something people are familiar with, they\u2019ll be glad to help you figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan was deferential as she spoke to Women\u2019s League members, fresh off their home tour<\/a> which raised $236,595 for local schools, nonprofit agencies and college scholarships and their season spent donating hundreds of volunteer hours in our neighborhood, but the women sat riveted on the edges of their seats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not lost on me that I have been asked to come here today and talk about volunteering in the community,\u201d Morgan laughed. \u201cI am standing in front of one of the premier women\u2019s volunteer organizations in this entire city.\u201d
Preparing people to be leaders is a billion-dollar, worldwide industry, but Morgan believes the core principles are fairly simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things you have to do is listen. If you listen enough, you will find out from the experts what you should do. The other thing is personal integrity. If you say you\u2019re going to do something, you\u2019d better do it, because the next time you say it, if you haven\u2019t built that reputation, you\u2019re going to have a tough time getting people to follow you.\u201d
She also stressed that major projects, such as the Skillman Bridge, need a champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoliticians go in and out of office. Neighbors move. People retire. But it was critical to build continuity through the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, of course, she faced the monumental task of funding the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always money somewhere,\u201d she said. \u201cYou guys have fundraising down pat, but raising money for a public project is a little bit different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan saved the best news for last. She admitted that the Texas Department of Transportation\u2019s bailiwick isn\u2019t landscaping, and she pointed to problematic plantings along Central Expressway to prove it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they do now is take a portion of every construction project and set aside money for landscape opportunities. It\u2019s called the Green Ribbon Project<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green Ribbon was designed to enhance corridor aesthetics along Texas highways while addressing air quality and stormwater management concerns. The program has provided for the planting of more than 2 million trees across our state.<\/p>\n

Vicky Taylor<\/a>, executive director of the Lake Highlands Public Improvement District<\/a>, will spearhead the effort, coordinating with TXDOT and the city of Dallas. She\u2019ll have $1.7 million to spend beautifying the area along 635 when construction is complete.<\/p>\n

You may purchase Morgan\u2019s ebook or paperback on Amazon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Skillman Arch Bridge over LBJ<\/p>\n

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