Step 1: Design Guidelines
Step 1:
AAT (Area Advisory Team), BSMT (Bi-State Management Team), RAC (Regional Advisory Committee)
The Bridge Type Selection Process for the new Downtown and East End Bridges followed
a four-step process, as follows:
- Design guidelines development
- Bridge type concepts
- Bridge type alternatives
- Bridge type selection
In Step One, the two bridge design teams worked with the public to establish design
guidelines for the new Downtown and East End Bridges. These guidelines provided
a framework within which stakeholders, the general public and design engineers collaborated
throughout the Bridge Type Selection Process.
Guidelines ensured the bridge architects and designers had all the information they
needed to begin brainstorming on what would be appropriate in each of the two sites
where new bridges will be built. In Step One, the design teams presented to the
public a list of design parameters for the two bridges. Parameters are criteria
that were set either through codes or standards or by previous studies such
as the Final Environmental Impact Statement. Parameters included things such as span
lengths, span widths, pier arrangements and cost budgets - these are some of the
factors that helped determine the types of bridges that could be built.
Four bridge types - truss, cable-stayed, arch and box girder - were determined as
feasible at the two bridge locations, both of which call for long-span structures.
Research and public involvement efforts in this step provided the bridge design
teams with information on the cultural characteristics of each area. Context sensitive
considerations included the type of architecture prevalent in surrounding buildings
and neighborhoods and historical features that could be reflected in the bridge
designs. Discussions with stakeholder groups and the public included environmental
and historical characteristics that might be reflected in the bridge designs.
With design guidelines that were established, public feedback on aesthetic
considerations was weighed carefully as the Ohio River Bridges Project moved
through the Bridge Type Selection Process.
Click here to read about the next step.