DOWNTOWN BRIDGE AAT/RAC CONSIDERS SIX BRIDGE TYPE ALTERNATIVES
Step 3 of the Bridge Type Selection Process is underway -- comments on the six bridge type alternatives will be assessed. The design team will use this feedback, along with information about cost, constructability and other factors to narrow down to three alternatives. To view two perspectives on each of the six concepts presented, scroll down.
March 2006 -- The Downtown Bridge design team unveiled six bridge-type alternatives at its March 13 Area Advisory Team/Regional Advisory Committee (AAT/RAC) meeting in Jeffersonville, Ind. Design team members presented each bridge alternative from three different perspectives and asked AAT/RAC attendees to respond with opinions and comments.
The March 13 meeting introduced the group to Step Three of the Bridge Type Selection Process, in which six alternatives will be considered and narrowed to three. The public will have a chance to view and comment on the six bridge types at Step Three Open Houses March 21 in Jeffersonville, Ind., and March 23 in downtown Louisville.
J. B. Williams, project manager with the Downtown Bridge team, explained that the six bridge type alternatives incorporated features popular with the AAT/RAC and general public, such as minimal piers, symmetrical structures and visual simplicity. Cost, constructability and maintenance were also considered.
The bridge types presented to the AAT/RAC included:
- A three-span tied arch
- A three-span thru arch
- A hybrid box girder
- A single-tower cable-stayed
- A four-tower cable-stayed
- A three-tower cable-stayed
Ted Grossardt, of the Kentucky Transportation Research Center, led the AAT/RAC in a polling exercise that electronically gauged the group's opinions of the six alternatives. Each concept was shown from an aerial, driver's and shoreline perspective. The polling exercise included a digital computer simulation of a driver crossing each of the six bridge types, as well as an aerial "flyover" simulation.
The AAT/RAC was also asked to rate the importance of construction impacts, construction costs, aesthetics and maintenance factors. The polling session was followed by a question and comment period in which AAT/RAC members weighed in with additional thoughts, concerns and questions. As in Steps One and Two, all opinions and feedback will be considered as design of the bridge type continues.
Alternative 1 - Three-Span Tied Arch
Aerial View
Indiana Shore View
Alternative 2 - Three-Span Thru Arch
Aerial View
Indiana Shore View
Alternative 3 - Hybrid Box Girder
Aerial View
Indiana Shore View
Alternative 4 - Single Tower Cable-Stayed
Aerial View
Indiana Shore View
Alternative 5 - Four Tower Cable-Stayed
Aerial View
Indiana Shore View
Alternative 6 - Three Tower Cable-Stayed
Aerial View
Indiana Shore View
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