| Peace Bridge | |
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Architect's rendering |
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| Official name | Peace Bridge |
| Carries | Pedestrian pathway, bike path |
| Crosses | Bow River |
| Maintained by | City of Calgary |
| Designer | Santiago Calatrava |
| Total length | Out to Out 130.6 meters (428 ft) |
| Width | 6.2 meters (20 ft) |
| Height | 5.85 meters (19.2 ft) |
| Piers in water | 0 |
Peace Bridge is a pedestrian bridge crossing the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, Canada currently under construction.
The bridge was proposed 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.
The city of Calgary contracted the architectural and structural design with Santiago Calatrava for $3.903 million.[1] The projected completion cost is $22 million.[2]
It is expected that the bridge will be used used by more than 5,000 people daily.[2]
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The design follows strict requirements imposed by the city, with no piers in the water (in an effort to minimize the ecological footprint) and restricted height (due to the vicinity of the Calgary (City/Bow River) Heliport). As such, the bridge is a departure from Calatrava's usual designs, which are typically asymmetric shapes anchored by high masts.[3] Another atypical element is the colour, while most of Calatrava's designs are white, the Peace Bridge features a red and white pattern (Red and white are the colours in both the Flag of Canada and the Flag of Calgary).
Calgary City Council approved the construction of the pedestrian bridge in September 2008 amid controversy related to the price tag and the lack of a bidding process for the bridge design.
Construction started in March 2010. A temporary structure was built immediately upstream from the bridge location and serves 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 October 2010 and construction was expected to be completed by mid 2011.[4]
During routine weld inspection, it was discovered that significant quality issues arose. As a result, the project has been delayed. The original Summer 2011 opening has now been pushed back indefinitely.[5]
The Peace Bridge has drawn much criticism from the public, namely:
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