Trinity Church Pedestrian Bridge

The award-winning Trinity Church Pedestrian Bridge spans busy Trinity Place and links the landmark 159-year-old Gothic-style Trinity Church (the third Trinity Church on this site since 1697) and its 1930s style parish house. The lacy, flat-arched 85 foot long structure was inspired by a cast iron bridge, which spanned Broadway in 1866. The bridge railings had detailing from the original cast iron ornamentation and were reproduced in a modern steel welding shop. There was an existing structure that was not able to support the new bridge, so an overhanging beam/cantilver scheme was used to reduce loading. The unique design also resolved difficulties caused by the skewed alignment of the church portico and parish house. The structure was specially designed to be shop welded and fabricated in one piece. It was erected in a single 90-minute night time operation, with no impact on traffic. The design successfully negotiated an extensive review process, which included numerous New York City agencies.