Construction news

Long-awaited bridge near downtown Fort Worth finally opens to traffic

You can now get from downtown to The Foundry District a little quicker and easier.

Facebook/M2G Ventures

After six years of construction, a long-awaited and much-maligned "bridge to nowhere" finally can take drivers somewhere. The White Settlement Road bridge northwest of downtown officially opened to traffic on Friday, April 2. It is meant to connect downtown with Panther Island.

"It’s not only Good Friday it’s a Great Friday! The White Settlement Rd. Bridge on Panther Island is open to traffic!," the Panther Island - Central City Flood Project casually posted on Facebook at 5:50 pm April 2.

The owners of Angelo's Barbecue also alerted their social media followers on Friday afternoon that the bridge had finally opened. A Facebook post declaring "THE BRIDGE IS OPEN!!!!!!!!" garnered about 200 comments and 170 shares.

They followed up by offering $3 chopped beef sandwiches and $3 beers, April 5-10, to celebrate the bridge's opening and thank loyal customers.

Angelo's was one of several restaurants and and shops along White Settlement Road, near Henderson Avenue, whose business has been impacted greatly by the ongoing construction that blocked the road.

Officials with M2G Ventures, developers of the nearby Foundry District near White Settlement Road at Carroll Street, said they were elated that the new bridge would allow patrons to access the district's restaurants, shops, and events another way.

“The Foundry District is thrilled to see the long-awaited White Settlement Bridge open to the public," they said in a statement to CultureMap on Monday. "As the northernmost area of Fort Worth’s Cultural District, The Foundry District community and surrounding local businesses will sure-fire see a significant uptick in drive-through and foot traffic as visitors will now have an ease of ingress and egress to and from downtown. The bridge opening has been much anticipated over the past several years and is integral infrastructure not only to The Foundry District businesses but to the city of Fort Worth as a whole.”

White Settlement is one of three bridges under construction as part of the $1.17 billion Panther Island project. Work began in November 2015 and was supposed to be complete by 2018, but construction delays continued to push the opening for years, eventually into early 2021.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the North Main and Henderson bridges are expected to open in the coming months, too.

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Crime News

Professor at TCU in Fort Worth charged with possession of child porn

Photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash

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A theology professor at Texas Christian University has been charged with possession of child pornographpy.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Charles Kilby Bellinger, 62, a professor of theology and librarian at the Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University, allegedly stored pornographic images of children on his work computer.

Bellinger was charged via criminal complaint with possession of child pornography and arrested on October 4, said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

The DOJ began a federal investigation after TCU’s IT staff reported they had detected pornographic images with concerning file names, including “infant” and “toddler,” on Bellinger’s work computer.

Investigators found multiple sexually explicit images of pre-pubescent minors on a hard drive and an SD card removed from Dr. Bellinger’s office.

At a detention hearing on Thursday, an agent testified that law enforcement also seized multiple encrypted devices from a locked safe in his office. Forensic investigation of those devices is ongoing.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Dr. Bellinger is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Secret Service and the Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit conducted the investigation with the TCU campus police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem is prosecuting the case.

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