Intrepid Museum Pedestrian Bridge

When Gov. George Pataki opened the new Intrepid Museum Pedestrian Bridge crossing Route 9A at West 46th Street in Manhattan on June 25, he called it "an important step to reconnection" with the waterfront and the USS Intrepid, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The $8.6 million bridge has a simple purpose-to transport pedestrians from a planned bus stop on the east side of the busy Joe DiMaggio Highway over to the waterfront's many attractions on the west side. Attractions include the Intrepid Museum, Hudson River Park, the Circle Line and the N.Y.C. Passenger Ship Terminal.

However, the design and construction was anything but simple-and the result is a sleek, aesthetically attractive steel structure that keeps the view corridor to the river and the USS Intrepid clear. Launched in 1943 the USS Intrepid, CV-11 served the United States Navy for 31 years. Nicknamed the "Fighting I", she proved resolute. This Essex Class carrier was one of America's most effective military vessels. Along with her 23 sister ships, the Intrepid formed the backbone of the U.S. Navy and its commitment to peace and freedom.

The bridge has a nautical theme meshing with the existing surroundings and features creative design solutions such as minimized bolted connections and innovative fabrication techniques for welded connections. "This bridge is a beautiful eyepiece to passersby on Route 9A," the jury said.

As the first cable-stayed bridge by New York State Department of Transportation, it took on symbolic importance as a step in the redevelopment of the West Side waterfront.

The team created a seafaring aura by designing a center mast-like column and stays that emulate a ship-complete with tensioned fabric canopies covering the east approach that resemble sails. The maritime theme also extends to the railings and lighting fixtures.

Another major feature was the effort to minimize exposed bolt connections for aesthetic reasons. That called for the use of complete penetration groove weld connections as well as large fillet weld connections, which can present design, fabrication and serviceability problems.

The compact nature of some bridge components also presented welding complications, which led to collaboration early in the design phase between the NYSDOT Metals Engineering Bureau and a fabricator to devise effective welding procedures that met the project's goals.

The Intrepid Bridge team also saved time on the project schedule during the design phase by coordinating with an existing NYSDOT Route 9A construction job in the area. While that existing project team worked on the roadway, it also constructed the pile-supported footings for the bridge's center tower and its west approach.

The strategy averted the need to reconstruct any of the newly installed road portion when the Intrepid Bridge project team later installed the other footings, steel superstructure and concrete deck.

The project team maintained close contact with and solicited input from the neighboring community, business groups, the Route 9A task force and the Intrepid Museum.