BP Pedestrian Bridge

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BP Pedestrian Bridge
BP Pedestrian Bridge
From The Buckingham in Lakeshore East (2008-06-02)
Carries Pedestrians
Crosses Columbus Drive
Locale Chicago, Illinois
Designer Frank Gehry
Design girder bridge
Material stainless steel, reinforced concrete, and hardwood
Total length 935 feet (285.0 m)
Width 20 feet (6.1 m)
Vertical clearance 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m)
Completion date May 22, 2004
Opening date July 16, 2004

BP Pedestrian Bridge is a pedestrian bridge crossing Columbus Drive in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States that connects Millennium Park to Daley Bicentennial Plaza in Grant Park. Designed by Frank Gehry, it had a May 22, 2004 ribbon-cutting ceremony before officially opening along with the rest of Millennium Park on July 16, 2004.[1][2] The girder bridge is the first bridge designed by Pritzker Prize-winner, Gehry, and was named for British Petroleum who donated $5 million to the construction of the Park.[3][4]

The bridge is referred to as snakelike or serpentine in character due to its curving form.[5] The bridge's design enables it to bear a heavy load without structural problems caused by its own weight, has won awards for its use of sheet metal and is known for its aesthetics. Additionally, it serves acoustic and functional needs.

Contents

[edit] Details

from overpass
from overpass
from ramp
from ramp
View of Historic Michigan Boulevard District and southeastern portion of Millennium Park

The original bridge design only called for a 170 feet (51.8 m) bridge.[6] Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley disliked Gehry's original design of an 800 to 900-foot (270 m) bridge, which caused Gehry to come up with ten more designs.[7]

The current bridge is 935 feet (285.0 m) long 20 feet (6.1 m) wide and clears Columbus Drive by 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m).[8][9] The bridge, which is more than ten times longer than the span of street it crosses,[10] begins in Millennium Park between the trellis system over the Jay Pritzker Pavilion's great lawn and the Lurie Garden. It winds its way northward along the eastern edge of Millennium Park before crossing Columbus Drive above parking garage entrances and winding a path to Daley Bicentennial Plaza. The bridge is designed with a continuous slope rather than landings and switchback ramps, and it has a modest 5% slope to allow easy access for the physically challenged.[11] This was a contributing factor to the park's selection for the 2005 Barrier-Free America Award in recognition of individual leadership in making our country more accessible for all Americans.[12] The materials for the bridge include 9,800 stainless steel shingle plates, 2,000 Brazilian hardwood boards and 115,000 stainless steel screws.[1]

Bridge on left from 340 on the Park.
Bridge on left from 340 on the Park.
Bridge on left from Aon Center.
Bridge on left from Aon Center.

The bridge is an artistic and architectural marvel, that serves as both a connector and a viewing platform for the park.[5] The bridge was designed to serve two purposes: it serves as a link between the Loop and the Lake Michigan lakefront, and it also serves as a berm sound barrier between the vehicular traffic noise on the six-lane Columbus Drive and the stereophonic sounds of the Park's outdoor bandshell (Jay Pritzker Pavilion) by deflecting traffic sounds upward.[3][13]

The bridge, which uses steel girders, reinforced concrete deck slabs and abutments, and a stainless steel veneer, had a total cost of $12.1–$14.5 million, depending on the source.[13][14][15] It contains large sculptural plates of curvilinear stainless steel.[16] Although the bridge's steel girders rest on concrete pylons, the bridge uses a hollow design to minimize weight, as the ground that supports the bridge covers underground parking garages.[1] Despite its hollow structure, and the fact that it is designed as a footbridge, it is built to highway standards and can uphold a full capacity load of pedestrians.[1] The bridge is designed without standard handrails.[5] The city not only mandates that the bridge be swept and washed daily, but also that the guard rails be wiped free of fingerprints.[17]

[edit] Credits

stainless steel shingles (facing The Buckingham, Outer Drive East and Harbor Point)
stainless steel shingles (facing The Buckingham, Outer Drive East and Harbor Point)

The City of Chicago commissioned the project, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill was the structural engineer, Walsh Construction was the contractor, Imperial Construction Associates performed the steel construction, Permasteelisa Cladding Technologies Ltd. was the subcontractor, Littell Steel Company was the steel supplier, McDonough Associates was the mechanical and electrical engineer, US Equities was the project manager, and URS Construction Services was the construction manager.[14][18] Custom Metal Fabricators Inc. (CMF) served as the sheet metal contractor for the project.[13] During the weekend of the May 2004 ribbon-cutting, the architect Mr. Gehry was awarded an honorary degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[19]

[edit] Construction

The start of the Chicago Marathon passes under the bridge (in the background).
The start of the Chicago Marathon passes under the bridge (in the background).

22-gauge stainless steel #316 with an angel hair finish and a flat interlocking panel process was used on the bridge. The sheet metal work totalled 5,900 field hours a six-month period. Additionally, fabricating the 10,400 trapezoidal stainless steel panels took 1,000 shop hours and was done in 17 different shops.[13]

The design of the bridge consists of convex, concave and radius areas stretching the total length of both sides of the bridge, which is 1,728 feet (526.7 m). Because a specific horizontal line had to be maintained throughout the bridge, CMF (the sheet metal contractor) made 4,400 field-fabricated custom panels. CMF used 57,000 square feet (5,300 m²) of materials, and built special heated enclosures to be able to continue working throughout the winter. They also designed, fabricated and installed a custom #4 brushed stainless steel handrail on the bridge. CMF earned the 2005 Tom Guilfoy Memorial Architectural Sheet Metal Award, by California SMACNA for the project.[13]

The original landscaping surrounding the bridge did not seem aesthetically pleasing. Honey locusts, ash and maple trees were removed and replaced with three varieties of magnolia and more than two dozen ornamental and canopy trees along the eastern foot of the bridge.[8] Other preliminary work for the bridge included setting reinforcing rods for the bridge in the concrete roof deck of the parking garage located under the park.[8]

[edit] Controversies

view of overpass
view of overpass

The initial plan was that the lawn seating at nearby Jay Pritzker Pavilion would be free for all events.[20] However, parking revenue fell short of estimates during the first year and at the August 31, 2005 concert by Tori Amos the city charged $10 for lawn seating.[20][21] On the day of the controversial concert, the bridge—which is generally open to the public—was closed until 7:00 A.M. the next day.[22]

After the park opened some of the bridge's foibles became apparent. The bridge has had to be closed during the winter because freezing conditions make it unsafe.[23] Another concern is that since the bridge is over an expressway-like trench of Columbus Drive, shovelling the snow onto passing cars is not an option and the Brazilian Hardwood would be damaged by rock salt.[24] Another concern expressed by Mayor Daley was that the bridge's endpoint across the street from Millennium Park was anticlimactic.[25]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Janega, James (2004-05-22). Curvy bridge bends all the rules - With its whimsical, wavy design, the new Millennium Park bridge has Chicagoans likening it to a skateboard, a snake--even a spaceship. Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  2. ^ Category: Intensive Industrial/Commercial. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (2005). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  3. ^ a b BP Pedestrian Bridge. Glass, Steel and Stone. Artefaqs Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  4. ^ Cohen, Laurie (2001-07-02). Band shell cost heads skyward - Millennium Park's new concert venue may top $40 million. Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  5. ^ a b c Kamin, Blair (2004-07-18). BP Bridge- **** - Crossing Columbus Drive - Frank Gehry, Los Angeles. Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  6. ^ Kamin, Blair (2000-03-20). LAKEFRONT PARK PLANS TO INCLUDE VISITORS' BRIDGE. Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  7. ^ Kamin, Blair (2000-06-23). GEHRY'S DESIGN: A BRIDGE TOO FAR OUT?. Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  8. ^ a b c Moffett, Nancy (2003-05-26). Millennium Park getting a touch of the South. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  9. ^ Frey, Mary Cameron (2004-05-24). Our Town's newest bridge. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  10. ^ Bernstein, Fred A. (2004-07-18). ART/ARCHITECTURE; Big Shoulders, Big Donors, Big Art. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  11. ^ Art & Architecture: BP Bridge. City of Chicago. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  12. ^ Deyer, Joshua (July 2005). Chicago's New Class Act. PN. Paralyzed Veterans of America. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  13. ^ a b c d e Form And Function Come Together To Create A Pedestrian Bridge For Chicago: Millennium Park BP Pedestrian Bridge, Chicago, Ill.. Architectural Metal Expertise. SMILMCF. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  14. ^ a b BP Pedestrian Bridge. Structurae. Nicolas Janberg ICS (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  15. ^ Herrmann, Andrew (2004-07-15). Sun-Times Insight. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  16. ^ Category: Intensive Industrial/Commercial. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  17. ^ Spielman, Fran (2005-12-16). New amenities for Millennium Park?: Company proposes baby strollers, Disney training for workers. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  18. ^ Facts and Dimensions of BP Bridge. City of Chicago. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  19. ^ Nance, Kevin (2005-05-23). Snakelike walkway by Gehry dedicated at Millennium Park. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  20. ^ a b Herrmann, Andrew (2005-09-01). Howls over charge for Millennium Park concert // Watchdog contends lawn seats supposed to be free. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  21. ^ City Charges To Publicly View Its Private Parts. Chicagoist. Gothamist LLC (2005-09-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  22. ^ Wasielewski, Carl (2005-09-09). A bad deal all around. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  23. ^ Nance, Kevin (2005-12-16). Museum seeks $63 mil. more: Art Institute needs donations to build addition, bridge. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  24. ^ Mihalopoulos, Dan and Hal Dardick (2005-01-07). Park spares the salt and closes the bridge. Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  25. ^ Say no to museum in park. Chicago Sun-Times. Newsbank (2007-09-21). Retrieved on 2008-06-01.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 41°52′58.23″N, 87°37′14.26″W

v • d • e
City of Chicago
Flag of Chicago
:See also: Chicago metropolitan area
v • d • e
Millennium Park
Features and attractions
Surrounding streets
Influences
Other
Jay Pritzker Pavilion Columbus Drive Grant Park
v • d • e
 
Jay Pritzker Pavilion North Grant Park
West   BP Pedestrian Bridge    East
South
Lurie Garden Columbus Drive Grant Park