Councillors in the US city of Oklahoma voted this week to change the design of the proposed Skydance Bridge from a cable-stayed to a truss structure. The pedestrian bridge will still feature a sculptural 'bird', which was to have formed the pylon in the original design.
The change has been made because the truss option is considerably cheaper. The estimated cost of the cable-stayed bridge with its 18-storey sculptural tower had risen from US$5.2 million to US$12.8 million as the design evolved. The project's engineering and architectural team MKEC/SXL was asked to redesign the bridge to remain within the US$6.8 million budget.
The redesign will incorporate a trussed bridge and a self-supporting sculptural 'bird', inspired by the skydance of the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
The cable-stayed design is 85% complete and will be put on ice in case sufficient funds become available in time for it to be built instead of the truss.
