Peace Bridge (Calgary)

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Peace Bridge
The Peace Bridge in Calgary an HDR photo.jpg
Coordinates 51°03′14″N114°04′44″W / 51.05389°N 114.07883°W / 51.05389; -114.07883 (Peace Bridge)
CarriesPedestrian pathway, bike path
Crosses Bow River
Official namePeace Bridge
Maintained by City of Calgary
Characteristics
Design Double helix tubular truss
Material Steel
Total lengthOut to Out 130.6 meters (428 ft)
Width6.2 meters (20 ft)
Height5.85 meters (19.2 ft)
No. of spans1
Piers in water0
History
Designer Santiago Calatrava
Constructed by Graham Group Ltd.
Construction startMarch 2010
Construction endMarch 2012
Opened2012-03-24
Location
Peace Bridge (Calgary)

Peace Bridge is a bridge that accommodates people walking and cycling across the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, opened for use on March 24, 2012.

Contents

The bridge was built by The City of Calgary to connect the southern Bow River pathway and Downtown Calgary with the northern Bow River pathway and the community of Sunnyside. This connection was designed to accommodate the increasing number of people commuting to and from work and those utilizing Calgary's pathways. The bridge is reportedly used by 6000 people a day and has ranked among the top 10 architectural projects in 2012 and among the top 10 public spaces of 2012. [1] [2]

Design

The design follows strict requirements with no piers in the water (in an effort to minimize the ecological footprint) and restricted height (due to the vicinity of the City/Bow River Heliport).

The bridge has also been designed to:

The bridge is a departure from Calatrava's previous designs, which were typically asymmetric shapes anchored by high masts. [4] Another atypical element is the color; while most of Calatrava's designs are white, the Peace Bridge features red and white as used in both the Flag of Canada and the Flag of Calgary.

Features
Materials used
Dimensions

Cost

Funding for the Peace Bridge was provided by the city's capital budget. For the transportation department, targeted expenditures of capital are directed by the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (TIIP), which defines the priority and timing of major infrastructure construction projects. This program emphasizes pedestrian and cycling in high-density areas where these modes are more efficient at moving people, supporting land use and lessening environmental impacts. [6] As of February 2012, the approximate costs were:

History

On September 8, 2008, Calgary City Council approved report LPT2008-49 which set aside $25 million for the Pedestrian Gateways project for two bridges across the Bow River: one west of Prince's Island Park and one at the west of St. George's Island. The decision directed Administration to design and build one bridge and develop a concept design for a second one.[ citation needed ]

Construction started in March 2010. A temporary structure was built immediately upstream from the bridge location and served as a place to assemble the bridge before moving it to its final position.

The tubular bridge was manufactured in Spain and shipped to Calgary. Assembly of the bridge pieces started in Fall 2010 and the bridge was moved across the Bow River in November 2011. [8] [6]

During routine weld inspection, it was discovered that some of the welds did not comply with quality standards. As a result, the city hired an independent inspection company to do a more thorough inspection of the welds completed in Spain. [9] The added inspections, red flags about the steel work's esthetics, weld repairs, and issues with damaged concrete slabs all contributed to multiple delays in the opening of the bridge. [10] [11] [12]

The bridge, originally supposed to be opened in the fall of 2010, opened to the public on March 24, 2012. [13]

To commemorate Canada Day 150, the Red Ball Project was installed for a day (June 26, 2017) on Calgary's Peace Bridge.

In 2022, the bridge suffered repeated vandalism, its glass panels being damaged. In order to reduce the cost of replacing the glass, the city consulted with Calatrava and decided to install steel cables instead, to be completed in fall 2023. [14] [15]

Criticism

The Peace Bridge has drawn much criticism from the public, namely:

The bridge bears some similarity to the Hans Wilsdorf Bridge in Geneva, designed by the architectural firm of Brodbek-Roulet. [21]

See also

Sources

  1. "2012 in Review: Top 10 Projects - Azure Magazine".
  2. "designboom 2012 top ten: public spaces". December 28, 2012.
  3. TI. "The City of Calgary -".
  4. World Architecture News (August 9, 2009). "A stretch for Calatrava" . Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  5. "The City of Calgary - Peace Bridge". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  6. 1 2 The City of Calgary. "Peace Bridge project page". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  7. TI. "The City of Calgary -".
  8. CBC News (October 6, 2010). "Peace Bridge pieces come together" . Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  9. The City of Calgary (April 1, 2011). "Pedestrian bridge delayed news release". Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.
  10. Calgary Herald (February 21, 2012). "Cost overruns forecast for Peace Bridge project, estimates reveal" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ]
  11. CBC News (April 1, 2011). "Peace Bridge plagued by further delays".
  12. CBC News (February 1, 2012). "Calgary Peace Bridge delayed, again".
  13. CBC. "Peace Bridge party kicks off grand opening" . Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  14. Gilligan, Melissa (November 3, 2022). "'Easy to maintain': Peace Bridge glass to be replaced with steel tension cables". CTV News Calgary. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  15. "Suspect in Peace Bridge vandalism arrested, say Calgary police". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. July 22, 2022.
  16. "Calgary's once-contentious Peace Bridge turns 10 years old - Calgary | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  17. CBC News. "City examines new bridge and Peace Bridge crosswalk" . Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  18. Jason Markusoff. "Calgary's $24.5M footbridge unveiled to cheers, jeers" . Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  19. "Benchmarking Cost and Value of Landmark Footbridges" (PDF).[ permanent dead link ]
  20. "Cecil Balmond and the Bonfire of the Vanities".
  21. Wallpaper Case Studies

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