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Riverlife Task Force and Alcoa Foundation Launch International Design Competition for West End Bridge
PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 3, 2005 - The Riverlife Task Force, the public-private partnership created to guide and facilitate the planned design and development of Pittsburgh's riverfronts, and Alcoa Foundation today are launching an international design competition for Pittsburgh's West End Bridge by inviting architects and designers from around the world to submit their proposals for the addition of a dramatic pedestrian walkway and trail connection for the bridge.
The Riverlife Task Force will accept entries into the world-class design competition today through January 31, 2006. Architects, engineers and designers can enter the competition, funded through a $413,000 grant from Alcoa Foundation, by visiting a newly-launched Web site, www.riverlifecompetition.org, where the application and rules of the competition are available. Proposals will then be displayed at a public exhibition in early February 2006, when they will also be judged in the first round of the competition. Details of the public exhibition will be forthcoming.
"Architects from around the world have expressed interest in this project, and our goal with this competition is to create a bold and visionary design that will add a striking new landmark to the Pittsburgh landscape," said Lisa Schroeder, executive director of the Riverlife Task Force. "This design is also an important piece in the development of Three Rivers Park, Riverlife's plan for the revitalization of Pittsburgh's riverfronts and adjoining properties."
Following the public exhibition, entries will be narrowed down to finalists who will compete in the second phase of the competition that will begin in March 2006. A winning proposal is expected to be selected and announced by April 2006.
"Alcoa Foundation focuses its efforts on the communities and people where Alcoa operates, so enhancing community connections is an important aspect of our work," said Kathleen W. Buechel, president and treasurer of Alcoa Foundation. "This project with the Riverlife Task Force is meaningful in Pittsburgh because the trail will connect neighborhoods such as the North Side, South Side and West End with each other. It will also provide the public with greater access to our three rivers and will complete Three Rivers Park with a distinctively world class design that can be implemented. This project will bring people back to the waterfronts and will make the rivers a center of community life."
Currently, pedestrian access to the bridge is limited. Users of newly constructed trails along the rivers must travel through open lots to reach steep staircases leading onto the West End bridge. The existing walkway on the bridge is narrow and unprotected, with rapidly moving, heavy vehicular traffic. In addition, neither the bridge nor the trails offer boater access to or from the water on either side of the river.
The new pedestrian bridge will provide bikers, pedestrians and boaters with easy access from one side of the river to the other, as well as breathtaking views of the Pittsburgh skyline and the Ohio River valley.
The West End Bridge, which opened in 1932, is included in the National Register of Historic Places as an engineering masterpiece, and designers will be challenged to develop solutions that maintain the historical integrity of the existing bridge design.
Designers will encounter a number of significant challenges to achieving these objectives, including the 66-foot vertical drop from the bridge deck to the river's edge. Additionally, the new pedestrian walkway will be anchored to the existing bridge and connect Pittsburgh's north and south shores with a direct and dynamic link. At the same time, it will complete a spectacular loop of trails being developed around the city which form a perimeter of Three Rivers Park, the Riverlife Task Force's master plan for the development of Pittsburgh's riverfronts developed in a public process from 2000-2002.
Additionally, the pedestrian bridge will be in compliance with all access requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, with the goal of providing much-needed walking and biking links between neighborhoods on the city's North Side with the South Side, Station Square, and the West End.
About Three Rivers Park
Introduced by Riverlife in 2001, Three Rivers Park is the name of a series of interconnected places and destinations that form a grand urban water park along Pittsburgh's three rivers. The focus of the plan for Three Rivers Park is simple: to make the rivers the center of community life by providing continuous public access along the edges, connecting and expanding on the parks that now punctuate the shoreline in a continuous flow of trails, bridges, green space, and waterfront amenities. This park opens the rivers up to the community, brings people back to the water, and brings new life to the city.
About the Riverlife Task Force
The Riverlife Task Force is a nonprofit corporation established in 1999 to create a vision "to make Pittsburgh's urban waterfront one of the most spectacular in the world." A group of 55 civic leaders, the Task Force is now dedicated to facilitating the future development of Three Rivers Park as a public asset and is an advocate for strategic riverfront planning and development to integrate the rivers into the life of the city.
About Alcoa Foundation
Established in 1952, Alcoa Foundation is a global resource that actively invests in improving the quality of life in the countries around the world where Alcoa operates. The Foundation's grants address global and local needs in Areas of Excellence that include: Conservation and Sustainability, Global Education and Workplace Skills, Business and Community Partnerships and Safe and Healthy Children and Families. Alcoa Foundation manages Alcoa's ACTION and Bravo! programs which recognize the volunteer efforts of employees with grants to the organizations they serve. For more information about Alcoa Foundation, visit www.alcoa.com, under Community.
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