A pedestrian bridge across Tempe Town Lake connects the south and north
shores near the western dam at the Tempe Center for the Arts. Not only is this
bridge beautiful and useful for pedestrians and bicyclists, it also keeps the rubber bladders holding back the waters of Town Lake cooler. The bridge
shades the dam and a sprinkler system attached to the bridge moistens
it.
The $5 million cost was paid
primarily with federal money and matching funds.
The bridge is about a quarter mile long. Want to see how far you walk when you
are at Town Lake or anywhere else in the world? Visit
www.mapmywalk.com.
Photo by James Doyle
Bridge Facts:
A team of designers, including T.Y. Lin
International and Otak, created the design for the pedestrian bridge. Artist
Laurie Lundquist was also part of the process
The bridge comes in four spans of 228
feet. Steel pipes cross each other at two intersections of the bridge.
Each span weighs 165,000 pounds
The bridge is 12' wide. The deck
expands to 14' at each end to provide an easy transition for bicyclists and
pedestrians. The bridge is 34' tall
There are 32 cables suspending the
bridge arches
A shading system using triangular
pieces of canvas is placed at curves throughout the bridge and provides shade.
The shape of the shade structures is meant to complement the facetted roof of the Center for the Arts
Time
Lapse Video
Watch the first section
of the Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge be lifted into place by two cranes. This
section of steel bridge weighs 165,000 pounds and is 228 feet long.
Construction Photos and Updates
Photo 1: Crews
continue installing the lighting system (James Doyle) Photo 2: A look through
the bridge to Tempe Center for the Arts (Chris Kabala) and Photo 3: A sunset
over Town Lake before the last section was installed (Chris Kabala)
Aug. 18, 2011
All four sections of the
Pedestrian Bridge have been installed. The sprinkler system is working. PCL
crews are currently installing hand rails, shade canopies, lighting systems and
completing detail work. Crews should be finished with the bridge by the
beginning of October.
May 19, 2011
Ever wonder how the sections of the Pedestrian
Bridge get from Coolidge to Tempe Town Lake?This video by Empire Transportation
will show you how.
http://youtu.be/p5XZWm8CUtc
The work continues on the bridge. The first
section was lifted into place at 3 a.m. on Monday. Work continues on the second
span. Also, work will begin on the south bank landing sidewalk to connect the
bridge to the paths around Tempe Town Lake. There may be some closures of the
portions of the sidewalk near the Tempe Center for the Arts between now and May
28. Please follow all appropriate detour signs for safety's sake.
May 12, 2011
PCL Construction continues to work on the first
two spans of the Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge. A series of photos of their work
may be seen at http://slidesha.re/iIxVbL
May 3, 2011
PCL
Construction has begun installing and tensioning some of the cables on the first
span of the bridge. They continue to weld the structure and are expecting the
bottom cord of section 2 to arrive any day.
Crews from PCL Construction and Stinger
Welding began assembly of the upper and lower arches of the first span of the
Pedestrian Bridge. The span will be lifted into place in sometime in May,
pending weather.
Left: Lower arch installed on April 27.
Below: Upper arch placement on April 28
April 22, 2011
Pieces of the pedestrian bridge started
arriving this week. The steel pieces are welded together during a two week
period into one of four completed sections. Expect to see new pieces arriving
several times a week until the bridge spans are all in place.
The Arizona Republic, TV 3, Fox 10 and
KTAR, among others, reported on the pedestrian bridge today. Here are some
photos of the morning media coverage and links to stories.
Below left: Mayor Hugh Hallman and PCL
Construction's Adam Gordon consult on the Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge. Below
Right: Hallman interviews with videographer James at KTVK TV 3.
