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Big Four Bridge Will Offer A Big View
Historic view of the Big Four Bridge (courtesy R.D. Schooling)
Now that the elliptical ramp up to the Big Four Bridge has been set into place sans its concrete walkway, Doug Proffitt of Whas11 took a trip up to the top platform to check out what must be one of the best views in Louisville. I can’t wait to check it out myself. See the video below which offers an up-close view of construction along with views of local landmarks.
Up above, you can see the bridge when trains still rolled between Louisville and Jeffersonville. You might note the wooden platform to the left of the tracks which allowed foot connection over the bridge 100 years ago. See the modern view in the video that’s much more dilapidated.
Also, for the sake of accuracy, a few claims in the video fall victim to the famous Louisville superlative. The Big Four isn’t unique in the country as the city claims. Converting rail bridges to pedestrian bridges is fairly common by now (although our spiral ramp is probably unique). Check out this example in Chattanooga. It’s also not the longest, although it will be really long at 2,525 feet excluding the ramps. A new pedestrian bridge in New York called the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge spans 6,767 feet, only slightly longer (more here and here).
[ Editor's note: The Whas11 video appears not to be embedding properly. Check over on their website for the video if it doesn't appear below. ]
PrintSnapshot: Pedestrian Bridge Spiral Airborne
Big Four Bridge Construction (Photo courtesy Steve Wiser)
Thanks to local architect Steve Wiser for sending in these photos of the Big Four pedestrian and bike bridge in Waterfront Park. Now that the elliptical spiral is completely airborne, it’s much easier to imagine taking a walk or ride to Jeffersonville in peace without using the Clark Bridge with its narrow sidewalks and speeding trucks. The next step involves installing a concrete deck on top of the steel structure, which it looks like has begun on part of the spiral.
Big Four Bridge Construction (Photo courtesy Steve Wiser)
Ramping Up Construction At The Big Four Bridge
Big Four Bridge Construction Site
About two weeks ago, I had a chance to tour the construction site at the Big Four Bridge and snap a few photos of construction progress at the final phase of Waterfront Park. Work has been moving along steadily, weather permitting, since these photos were taken, and additional pieces of the ramp structure have been lifted into place.
The day of my tour was cold and rainy, meaning the site was considerably muddy, but the sight of massive curving beams that form the approach to the pedestrian and bicycle crossing over the Ohio River to Jeffersonville was worth it.
An initial earthen mound forms the beginning of the elliptical spiral that ramps 60 feet into the air to meet the Big Four Bridge. While the site was nearly abandoned on my visit, on a less rainy day, 25 to 50 workers would be seen preparing sections of the ramp.
Each of the four ramp sections and columns was manufactured in Tampa, Florida of steel that forms a naturally rusty finish meant to blend with the patina of the 1890s-era bridge. The elliptical shape presented a challenge over what could have been a typical circular ramp. Instead of one radius to conform to, the ramp contains seven radii.
Ramp sections consist of two parallel structural channels that are accessible for maintenance and repair work. Small portals at each end will allow access into the dark and confined spaces. Three cranes on site capable of lifting 100, 160, and 250 tons respectively have been used to hoist the steel into the air. Each section rests on rubber pads on the piers and a central column will be filled with concrete to further secure the ramp.
A concrete deck wide enough to accommodate emergency vehicles will be poured on top of the steel structure leading to the bridge. A 60-foot diameter platform sits at the base of the bridge and is sure to offer amazing views of the surrounding area when complete.
When funds are available, two I-beams will be installed on the Big Four Bridge and a concrete deck poured on top. Existing wooden railroad ties and debris must first be cleared, but much has already been heavily damaged or destroyed in a fire on the bridge last year. Stimulus funds are being sought to help pay for the Big Four decking and more details will be available in December.
You may also recall two proposals for installations on the Big Four Bridge site. One plan calls for a $500,000 pavillion nestled under the bridge approach designed by architects DeLeon & Primmer of Shelby Street. The pavilion is meant to draw attention to and honor the Hill sisters who wrote “Happy Birthday to You.” At IdeaFestival 2008, Arne Quinze of Belgium proposed an intricate wooden lattice “cloud” weaving through the bridge over the Ohio River. The plan called for interpretive stations detailing local history and even solar panels that would allow the cloud to glow and play music.
- Park Watch: Steel Columns Arrive At Big Four Bridge (Broken Sidewalk)
- Wasteland No More: The Greening Of Waterfront Park (Phase III) (Broken Sidewalk)
Click through for more photos of the Big Four construction site.
Jeffersonville Considers Innovative Canal District
Proposed route of Jeffersonville canal (courtesy City of Jeffersonville)
Mayor Tom Galligan thinks a storm sewer can be beautiful and spur economic development in Jeffersonville. In one of the most ambitious moves in the entire region, Jeffersonville is proposing to build a canal district from the foot of the Big Four Bridge paralleling its historic downtown and anchored by a convention center and hotel.
Plans for the Canal District stem from a practical engineering need. The area around the canal alignment on Mulberry Street has historically faced problems with flooding and rainwater runoff. The problem has attracted the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency who wants the city to deal with its combined sewer overflow problems. Rather than build a conventional stormwater sewer to separate rainwater from raw sewage at a substantial cost, the canal provides an innovative and elegant solution that will provide a focal point for the city.
Three projects fall inside the Jeffersonville Canal District: the pedestrian approach to the Big Four Bridge, the new convention center & hotel, and the canal itself. Each is a separate project but they form a synergy that can create a drastically changed Jeffersonville.
- City of Jeffersonville (Official Site)
- Aliens, Pharoahs, & Mermaids Invade Jeffersonville (Broken Sidewalk)
Click through for more info, photos, and renderings of the Jeffersonville Canal District.
Park Watch: Steel Columns Arrive at Big Four Bridge
Steel Piers Arrive at Big Four Pedestrian Bridge
Two giant steel tubes arrived at the construction site of Waterfront Park Phase III this week and will eventually be installed as piers to support the curving ramp that will one day lead pedestrians from the park to the bridge above. The columns will be set upright over the finished foundations and filled with rebar and concrete. The metal in the piers is similar to Core 10 steel which forms a naturally rusty outer layer intended to match the existing Big Four Bridge. Once complete, all the new steel for the ramp should match the aged patina of the old bridge. A contract has already been signed to install the ramp piers and work is expected to begin in January after all the piers arrive on site from Florida.
- Wasteland No More: The Greening of Waterfront Park (Phase III) (Broken Sidewalk)
Wasteland No More: The Greening Of Waterfront Park (Phase III)
Future Site Of Lincoln Statue
Waterfront Park has undoubtedly been a major boon to revitalizing Louisville’s urban neighborhoods, but the eastern and western phases of the park still remain divided by hundreds of feet of chain link fence as construction continues on some of the most dramatic features of the entire park system: the Big Four Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial. It’s been a long and arduous process to move from the industrial wasteland that once comprised Louisville’s waterfront to the nationally acclaimed park that exists now, but the wait has well been worth it. The final 13 acres of the 85 acre project are scheduled to be phased in over the next couple of years and will finally unite the park into one community jewel.
Masterplan for Phase III (Rendering Courtesy Waterfront Development Corporation)
We took a tour of the estimated $22 million construction site as the grass is beginning to grow and the heavy construction is starting to heat up. Peering through the fence at the park’s signature sculpted hills reveals only a portion of the inner workings of the site. The articulation of the river’s edge is far in the distance and the Lincoln Memorial is all but hidden from view. Landscape architects Hargreaves & Associates of San Francisco have shown how skillfully they can articulate space in Phase I and II of the park, and one must experience the new spaces from all angles to appreciate their full complexity. Once within the confines of the construction fence, the true intricacy of the park begins to be made apparent.
Waterfront Park Construction
Walking along the riverfront from the west, a granite amphitheater appears from behind a sculpted earthen berm. Next spring, a larger than life Abraham Lincoln will be perched atop a massive boulder intently gazing down the river. (His general glance will be fixed on the third pier of the Kennedy Bridge, we’re told.) The Lincoln Memorial has been designed to be an experiential journey past four bas reliefs depicting scenes of Lincoln’s life in Kentucky, wrapping around the gentle curve of the amphitheater until the visitor is confronted by the former president himself sculpted by renowned local artist Ed Hamilton. The surrounding berm shields the memorial from the rest of the park, essentially wrapping around the site and embracing the micro-landscape. According to the Waterfront Development Corporation, the Lincoln Memorial “teaches about his connections to Kentucky and about how, as a young man, he developed his abhorrence of slavery while standing on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville.” The space has the potential to be a deeply moving one.
- Waterfront Development Corporation (Official Site)
- Hargreaves & Associates Landscape Architecture (Official Site)
- Big Four Bridge Proposal By Studio Arne Quinze (Broken Sidewalk)
- Happy Birthday From Under The Bridge (Broken Sidewalk)
You’ll want to click through, there are dozens of park photos just ahead (and more to read!)
Big Four Bridge Proposal By Studio Arne Quinze
Big Four Bridge Proposal (Rendering by Studio Arne Quinze)
Today at the IdeaFestival, Studio Arne Quinze revealed their proposal for transforming the Big Four Bridge into a dynamic art installation weaving itself through the bridge’s iron trusses connecting Jeffersonville and Louisville. Quinze’s installation work is known for its unique construction of linear wooden sticks joined in an apparently chaotic but well informed manner to create large organic and fluid sculptures. The proposal includes solar panels incorporated into the design allowing for nighttime light-plays and music to emanate from the wooden cloud. During the day, the installation will filter sunlight to create the quality of light passing through leaves in a forest. ”It’s a huge project, but I believe in it and it will work,” Quinze said. ”Now the idea is in your camp… I make the idea and now you” must find a way to build it.”
The Big Four Bridge is an abandoned railroad crossing and part of the final phase of Louisville’s Waterfront Park, designed by Hargreaves & Associates. The bridge, built in 1895, will be turned into a pedestrian walkway connecting Kentucky and Indiana. A dramatic sprialing ramp is being built to connect the bridge to ground level in the park. A smaller ramp is being built in Jeffersonville, Indiana. In May of this year, the bridge deck caught fire after an inspection due to faulty wiring of a light fixture. The wooden bridge deck was damaged but the structure was unharmed.
The announcement comes the day after Mark Beasley of public art firm Creative Time lectured to IdeaFestival crowds. Creative Time has just been hired by the City of Louisville’s Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Public Art (MACOPA) to draft a master plan to guide public art throughout the city.
In addition to the cloud sculpture, the proposal lays out a program for the pedestrian walkway of the Big Four Bridge. Quinze envisions a timeline running across the 2,525 foot long bridge detailing possible historical events important to the city’s growth. Earlier this month, DeLeon & Primmer Architecture Workshop revealed their Happy Birthday Pavillion that will sit beneath the bridge and its spiraling ramp.
Studio Arne Quinze has worked on a number of public art installations including Cityscape in Brussels Belgium, the Burning Man Pavillion in the deserts of Death Valley, and proposals for the Galactic Transporter for the Beijing Olympics and Rebirth Pavillion for the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Arne Quinze Speaks at IdeaFestival
- Studio Arne Quinze (Official Site)
- Arne Quinze (Official Site)
- IdeaFestival (Official Site)
- Big Four Bridge (Wikipedia)
- Happy Birthday From Under The Bridge (Broken Sidewalk)
Happy Birthday From Under the Bridge
Happy Birthday To You (Rendering by DeLeon & Primmer Architecture Workshop)
A small parking lot on Main Street tucked under the 9th Street Interchange with Interstate 64 in downtown Louisville is the only memorial for two Louisvillians whose impact on American culture is felt around the globe. Sisters Mildred Jane Hill and Patty Smith Hill are credited with writing “Happy Birthday To You” yet are largely forgotten in their home city. Their song has been named the most recognizable song in the English language by the Guiness Book, just ahead of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”. A small plaque at the entrance to their namesake parking lot explains their historic impact:
“In 1893, Clayton F. Summy Company published a song book by Mildred Jane Hill, an authority on negro spirituals, and Patty Smith Hill, Proffessor Emeritus of Education, Columbia University, titled, “Song Stories For The Kindergarten.”
Local history recounts that during a birthday party for Lisette Hast, in the Little Loom House on Kenwood Hill, Patty suggested that the words of the first song in “Song Stories”, “Good Morning To All” be changed to “Happy Birthday To You.” The song has since become one of the three most popular songs in the English language.
Among other achievements, Patty Hill is remembered as a pioneer in early-childhood education, launching one of America’s first kindergartens in Louisville.”
Happy Birthday To You
The Hill sisters are headed from an interstate underpass to a grand pavillion under the Big Four Bridge. The pavillion is expected to cost around $500,000 and is situated in the center of a spiraling ramp leading to the Big Four Pedestrian Bridge. The pavillion is being designed by DeLeon & Primmer Architecture Workshop of Shelby Street in the East Village. The architects have also designed the bathrooms at Waterfront Park known for their dramatic rooflines.
- DeLeon & Primmer Architecture Workshop (Official Site)
- Happy Birthday To You (Wikipedia)
- Pavilion may honor “Happy Birthday” writers (C-J)
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