FIU’s new pedestrian bridge lowered into position

Florida International University (FIU) in the US has announced that a 174ft section of its massive new pedestrian bridge was lifted from its temporary supports.

The main span of the FIU-Sweetwater UniversityCity Bridge was then rotated 90° across an eight-lane thoroughfare, and lowered into its permanent position.

FIU president Mark Rosenberg said: “FIU is about building bridges and student safety. This project accomplishes our mission beautifully.

“We are filled with pride and satisfaction at seeing this engineering feat come to life and connect our campus to the surrounding community where thousands of our students live.”

The 950t section of the bridge was built adjacent to Southwest Eight Street with the help of accelerated bridge construction (ABC) methods.

These methods are currently being advanced at the university’s Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC).

The FIU-Sweetwater UniversityCity pedestrian bridge has been moved through self-propelled modular transportation and is claimed to be the first in the world to be constructed entirely of self-cleaning concrete.

When the titanium dioxide in the concrete is exposed to sunlight, it captures pollutants and converts it to bright white, thereby reducing maintenance costs.

Funding for the $14.2m bridge, which connects plazas and walkways, is part of a $19.4m Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant provided by the US Department of Transportation.

The Federal Highway Administration, Florida Department of Transportation Local Agency Program, FIU and the City of Sweetwater also provided funding for the project.

Construction of the 32ft-wide bridge, which started last year, is expected to be completed early next year. Once finished, it will be 289ft long and 109ft tall.

Designed by FIGG Bridge Engineers, the bridge was built by MCM and the self-propelled modular transporters were operated by Barnhart Crane and Rigging supports.