This is brilliant!! Finally, some creative thinking, instead of the usual negativity.
I would also suggest running the pedestrian and bicycle lanes through one of the box girders (the easternmost one, with the view of Mt Hood). Not only would the lanes be closer to ground level than the main decks, but they'd be covered too. Hell, they could even add a small kiosk midspan for walkers and bikers to grab a latte.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 360Rich
Advantages
Shorter construction time
Fewer pillars in the river
Require less riverfront
|
I would add "Less expensive". Even if there's a premium for specially designed box girders, it's surely less expensive than building a third span.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 360Rich
Disadvantages
Untested design in the U.S.
Obscured river view for mass transit riders.
More complicated emergency access.
|
1- Tested in Europe and Asia is good enough for me. We should be following more European and Asian examples in transportation.
2- It's not like you can't see Mt Hood from every other part of the city, you don't have to see it from the train too.
3- No more complicated than emergency access to any other bridge.
Also, it may be worth designing all of the box girders this way and use them as separate bus or HOV lanes, or reserve them for future high speed rail so another bridge wouldn't be necessary when that finally happens.