Calgary-Paris partners to build St. Patrick's bridge

A Calgarycompany and its Paris-based partner will build the new pedestrian bridge linking St. Patrick's Island to the East Village development in southeast Calgary.

A plan submitted by Paris-based RFR and Calgary's Halsall Associates Ltd. beat out two other finalists in the competition to design the new crossing, the city announced Monday.

"We're elated," said John Ford, an engineer with Halsall in Calgary. "We're very excited to be part ofEast Village. We tried to capture what the community wanted and to reflect the unique characteristics of this location."

The new bridge will span the western endof St. Patrick's Island between the East Village and the neighbourhood of Bridgeland.

It will replace the existing GC King pedestrian bridge, which doesn't cross over to the north bank. St. Patrick's Island is connected to St. George's Island,where theCalgary Zoo is located.

The winning design features a low-profile, arched structure that is in keeping with the location and aesthetics of St. Patrick's Island and the Bow River, according to The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), which is overseeing the project as part of the revitalization of the land east of City Hall and north of Ninth Avenue S.E.

"It was a difficult decision," said Chris Ollenberger, president and CEO of CMLC. "All of the three finalists were engaging in their public presentations and their final submissions reflected their passion for the project. The board of directors was very impressed with the sensibility, aesthetics and thematic approach taken by RFR Halsall."

33 proposals submitted

The were 33 proposals submitted in the first phase of the competition, with three finalists selected last November.

Designers had to work within a $25-million budget set aside for the project, andallow the bridge to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians.

The competition for the St. Patrick's bridge project differed from the process for another crossing farther upstream. The controversial $22-million Peace Bridgeslated to be built just west of Prince's Island, was awarded directly to celebrated Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

The new St. Patrick's bridge will feature animated lighting, a visual highlight that makes it an interactive structure.

The city held open houses and solicited comments on its website for the original 33 designs for the St. Patrick's bridge. About 2,000 submissions from the public were recorded.