New Bridge Will Span Railroad Tracks, Connecting Downtown and Parking with The Smith Center
Construction will soon begin on a Symphony Park Pedestrian Bridge. The project consists of creating and installing a pre-fabricated steel pedestrian bridge from the 500 S. Main St. parking garage, which serves Las Vegas City Hall, to The Smith Center for the Performing Arts parking lot. The bridge is designed to improve pedestrian access between downtown and Symphony Park. a
Work will include a concrete deck, elevators, stairs, landscaping and irrigation. The bridge will be constructed over Union Pacific Railroad tracks and right of way, and will be lifted into place by a crane to be located on The Smith Center side of the tracks. a
The project is expected to take approximately eight months, with most work scheduled Monday through Friday, starting at 6 a.m. Drilling and concrete pouring may be allowed to start earlier some days, due to expected high temperatures.
a The start of construction will have minimal impact on the parking garage at 500 S. Main St. Toward the end of bridge construction, there may be some parking restrictions on the west end of the third and top levels of the garage to allow construction workers to stage the power, low-voltage and irrigation lines that will be connected to the bridge from the garage. During the actual placement of the bridge by crane, parking and pedestrian traffic along the west wall of the garage will be blocked off. The construction activity primarily will be in The Smith Center temporary surface parking lot portion nearest to the train tracks. a
The project has a $4.5 million budget. Funding comes from a $500,000 federal earmark grant through the Federal Highway Administration; $3.6 million in Congestion Mitigation Air Quality federal funds; and $400,000 from the city of Las Vegas general fund. a
The city of Las Vegas is managing the project. Whiting-Turner Contracting Company of Las Vegas is the general contractor. a
(Rendering courtesty of Ed Vance & Associates.)
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