FABRICATION & COATING

Squibb Park Bridge, Brooklyn, New York

Redesign to the Squibb Park Bridge

FABRICATION & COATING

n By Rob Nickerson

The original design of the Squibb Park Bridge in Brooklyn, New York was a fairly ambitious one as far as pedestrian bridges go. Connecting the New York City Squibb Park to Brooklyn Bridge Park, the original environmentally sustainable wooden bridge opened in 2013. It was intentionally designed to give its users a slightly whimsical “bounce” from the motion of day-to-day foot traffic. Within a couple of years, however, the bridge started to develop unintended lateral movement and the light bounce devolved into more of a lurch. The once fanciful pedestrian experience had become disconcerting for the average user. After an analysis of the bridge showed a significant flaw in design, it was decided that starting again would be preferable to modifying the existing structure. A new design for a less lively bridge was drafted and the wooden superstructure was demolished in October 2019.

Turner Construction was awarded the contract for the redesigned bridge and brought Cianbro Fabrication & Coating Corporation (CFCC) into the fold. The new design, which kept the original concrete piers intact to save on cost, was constructed of aluminum and steel and preserved the aesthetic of the original, while completely eliminating the once whimsical sway that had previously distressed many a

Cianbro’s Fabrication & Coatings Facility, Georgetown, Massachusetts

New York dog walker.

At about 64 tons, the series of steel frames spanning a total distance of 450 feet was surprisingly light, partially owing to the design considerations necessary to successfully reuse the original piers that were intended to support a timber structure. The fabrication and coating facility in Pittsfield, Maine provided the bearing support brackets while the Georgetown shop in Massachusetts handled the assembly of the spans themselves. The assembly took up its fair share of real estate at Georgetown, though the fab shop would prove to be downright spacious in comparison to the tight New York streets that the completed spans would ultimately have to navigate. In the field, strict erection plans required close schedule coordination, but CFCC’s series of deliveries were carried out not only on time, but with zero reported fit-up issues in the field. As a matter of fact, the Squibb Bridge project was completed and opened ahead of schedule, in no small part due to the efforts and care of the CFCC team.