Challenge
Riverside Drive Park’s development project included construction of small trail offshoots to be used heavily by maintenance vehicles. For these legs of the trail, the City of Dublin looked to find an alternative to traditional timber pedestrian bridges. The Parks and Open Space Department needed a durable material that was a cost-effective and long-term solution the city could rely on.
Solution
Janco LLC installed 16-foot beams supplied by PermaTrak to span across the large creek. PermaTrak’s concrete toe curbs were used to prevent maintenance vehicles from taking an unwanted nose dive.
Riverside Drive Park now boasts a PermaTrak structure that won’t need a replacement in the near future. “With a timber bridge you’re expecting it to last 10 to 20 years-I kind of question how long it will last, there’s a lot of different factors that affect timber bridges,” said Scott Sonnenberg, owner of Eco Design & Engineering. The short lifespan of timber pedestrian bridges pales in comparison to the longevity of this precast concrete boardwalk. “Once that thing is in place you’re not going to have to mess with it for a long time. My guess is 50 years,” Sonnenberg added. The City of Dublin’s PermaTrak application sets a much higher standard for design life of future pedestrian bridges across the district area.
