Downtown Cary Park Bridges

SGH provided structural engineering services for the four pedestrian bridges and two vehicular bridges. Highlights of our work include:

• Wood-framed walkways. The two walkways span over uneven terrain, including a stormwater retention pond and landscaping valley. The structures comprise exposed wood framing and a boardwalk. The guardrails feature mesh panels between posts.
• Nest bridge. The steel-framed, elevated walkway spans over the children’s play area, providing access from the parking garage and library to Academy Plaza. The design incorporates the bridge with the play area in several ways. One branch of the bridge steps down and inconspicuously hides a pump room for the adjacent splash pads. A large bench accessed from the play area is suspended from the bridge structure above and single-column supports minimize interruption.
• Skywalk. Constructed similarly to the Nest bridge, the Skywalk is the park’s longest bridge. It weaves through champion trees, creating overlooks and offering visitors an elevated perspective of the tree canopies. The single-column design minimizes impact to the tree’s critical root zones. The Skywalk is accessible from Walker Street and touches down several times along its length via stair structures. An overlook at the middle pond supports Haddad Drugan’s Light Passage sculpture, featuring a series of steel rings around the walkway with an organic layout of branches.
• Vehicular bridges. With one spanning over the babbling brook and another over the valley around Park Street courts, two concrete bridges provide vehicular access across the site. The bridges’ pedestrian paver assembly provides an aesthetic consistent with the other walkways.