By Maggie Fair, Arts & Sciences Reporter
OColly.com
Published: Monday, January 17, 2011
Updated: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 23:01
When Oklahoma State University researcher Tyler Ley visits Fort Worth, he is one of only a few architects who can point and say "I built that" as he drives over the West Seventh Street Bridge.
Ley is among those helping to rebuild the West Seventh Street bridge in Fort Worth, Texas, which will connect two major areas of the city in a visually appealing, modern way.
The West Seventh Street bridge links Fort Worth's downtown to its cultural district, according to a press release announcing the reconstruction of the bridge. The $22.7 million project will feature six arch spans across the Trinity River with four lanes of traffic, room for a streetcar and 10-foot sidewalks to improve safety and foot traffic, according to an article from NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. The bridge will be expanded from 57 to 88 feet wide, according to the article.
"The current bridge is used to connect downtown to car dealerships and department stores," Fort Worth mayor Mike Moncrief said in the press release. "Seventh Street is about both residential and commercial development. It's a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere. The new bridge matches that character."
Lead designer Dean Van Landuyt of the Texas Department of Transportation Bridge Division came up with the preliminary design for the bridge.
"It really wasn't architecturally compatible, and there was corrosion," Van Landuyt said of the original bridge. "I have a video of grabbing steel with my hands and flaking it off." FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Tue, January 18, 2011
by John Cox