No more soaring 200-foot tower, sweeping cable extensions or unique S-curve shape.
Instead, new conceptual designs of a planned 700-foot-long pedestrian bridge to connect the Gulch and SoBro neighborhoods now look more, well, pedestrian.
To the chagrin of people who want something bolder, the Metro Public Works Department has — for now — scaled back the conceptual design of an $18 million Gulch-SoBro pedestrian bridge Metro is preparing to build. City officials say the decision was made to keep the project within budget and to minimize its footprint.
In a statement, Jenna Smith, a Public Works spokeswoman, said new conceptual designs of the bridge — now illustrated as a traditional arch bridge — are still subject to change. She said a public engagement process will take place to help determine a final look.
“The design was altered in order to move forward with the project,” Smith said in an email on the new designs released Thursday. “It expands flexibility for property owners' future use(s) by reducing the footprint of the bridge as it was previously conceived.”
The Gulch-SoBro pedestrian bridge was first pushed by former Mayor Karl Dean, who landed Metro Council approval for its construction during his final year in office. The project would connect two fast-growing downtown Nashville neighborhoods currently severed by CSX railroad tracks.
Though the pedestrian bridge has been criticized by some who have demanded greater investments in residential neighborhoods, Mayor Megan Barry has opted to advance the project forward. Earlier this week, the mayor’s office announced a land deal with the office complex Cummins Station to acquire easements needed for the bridge. The council will vote on the transaction Tuesday.
Smith said primary design changes include: a bridge realignment on the east side of the railroad tracks near Cummins Station; a more direct connection and elimination of the S-curve shape; a new pedestrian-oriented plaza on the SoBro side of the bridge; and the move from a single-tower cable bridge to a basket-handle network street arch bridge. Plans for a green space element on the bridge remain.
Many in Nashville’s design community say they are disappointed by the new bridge concepts, noting that the more ambitious design was shown during a previous public input process led by Dean’s administration.
Some are holding out hope for a return to the previous design.
“It’s not quite as visually appealing as the other one,” said Gary Gaston, executive director of the Nashville Civic Design Center. “During the public process that everyone went through, that was the design and the visual that was shown. Now, for this to come back and say this is the design, there needs to be some explanation.
“I think people were expecting something much more beautiful and special that would be a design statement by the city. So, I would like to hear more information and see if we can get back to something that we were shown.”
Original designs were produced three years ago by the Nashville-based architectural firm Hawkins Partners. Smith said the project team remains the same.
The Gulch-SoBro pedestrian bridge, which was first identified in the city’s 2013 SoBro Master Plan, has previously been billed not just as a way to connect Nashville’s two fastest-growing downtown neighborhoods, but as a destination itself.
Councilman Freddie O’Connell, who represents the area, said he believes the upcoming public design phase will provide an opportunity to tweak the bridge’s designs. He said it’s his understanding that renderings shown by Public Works are meant to simply match engineering specifications.
“I don’t think what Public Works put out there is going to be the final product,” he said, adding that he hopes the final design is different than what was released this week. “I guess you've got to have a starting point for the conversation."
Construction on the pedestrian bridge isn’t expected to begin for another 10 to 12 months, according to Smith. She said the bridge’s design and construction process is expected to take an additional 18 months.