Author: VM Structural

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Foothills White River Bridge

We started to understand that this bridge had captured the hearts and minds of the community when we saw the photos/videos uploaded onto Google Maps even before the official bridge opening on September 28. We were energized by the number of people who were there at the ribbon cutting celebration. We were humbled by the effort put in by the community members and decisionmakers that got the funding in place to replace the bridge and make it exclusively for non-motorized users.

What an honor to be entrusted with the role of designing this important connection, and to be there to see the finished bridge being enjoyed by so many – parents pushing strollers, kids on bikes, and the elderly. This is why we do what we do.

We are thankful for the partnerships with the larger project team, and we are grateful for the collaboration with the construction team. Their pride in their craft and their skills in fabricating the parts and constructing all the pieces together from plans, made what we see today possible. These photos below are courtesy of King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Here is their press release for more photos, a video, and further details. Enjoy!

The community walking and rolling across the bridge prior to the opening ceremony.
The three-arched bridge spans the meandering White River.
The community enjoyed snacks, music, and words from speakers before the ribbon-cutting.
Renderings conveyed the design vision of the V+M team to the decision makers, community, and the construction team.

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Opening of the Crab Creek Pedestrian Bridges

After completing the final design of the Crab Creek Pedestrian Bridges, the V+M team has been busily supporting their construction this past year on behalf of the owner. We’re proud to say the bridges are now ready to carry hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, as well as snow-sport enthusiasts along the Palouse to Cascades Trail, as a key link in the 185-mile-long State Park trail that starts in North Bend, Washington and extends to Idaho.

The bridges, located 10 miles east of Beverly, Washington, were old railway wooden trestles that burned down in the 2019 and 2021 wildfires. This historic trail follows an abandoned railroad grade that is now owned by the State of Washington. The west bridge is a three-span through girder bridge constructed using a cantilevered construction technique to overcome the very limited construction access. The steel plate edge girders are elegantly shaped in profile to reflect the forces in the structure while thinning over the middle of the creek to offer sweeping views out over the water and surrounding terrain. The east bridge is a steel trestle over wetlands.

Game, Inc. who were the contractors for the project put together this drone flyover video. Do check it out!

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Foothills Trail Pedestrian Bridge Arch Lift

Network arch main span

V+M is excited to share that the project reached a milestone yesterday as the bridge network arch span (70 tons of steel) was lifted into place onto the two piers to span the White River, to form part of the connection of the Foothill Trails between Buckley and Enumclaw, WA. Despite the lift being scheduled early in the morning before the excessive heat wave during mid-day, a crowd stood by to witness the feat completed in about five hours.

The lift was a well-choreographed dance, with a large truck rolling the 140,000-lbs arch structure from the staging area down toward the river. The 172-foot span was hoisted by a 550-ton crane and suspended over the chocolaty version of the usual milkyWhite River. The leading end was handed off to a second 550-ton crane placed on the far riverbank as the truck continued to support the arch. The first crane then picked up the trailing end of the arch off the truck to complete the placement of the tied arch onto the piers.

Foothills Trail White River Bridge on Vimeo

V+M is the bridge designer and Engineer of Record. King County is the Owner, Huitt Zollars is the Prime Consultant for this section of the Foothills Trail, the General Contractor is Ceccanti, and the cranes were supplied by Omega Morgan. Kudos to the construction team in making this a safe and successful lift!

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TLC Grand Opening

July 8, 2023 will mark the opening of the Totem Lake Connector (TLC) bike and pedestrian bridge! Spanning 6 years of involvement for V+M staff, the opening of the TLC bike and pedestrian bridge is a significant milestone for the community and all those involved in the planning and construction of this bridge which will connect the 5.75-mile Cross Kirkland Corridor over the City’s busiest intersection.

The grand opening celebration will start at 2PM with a family friendly community event. The official program will begin at 3:30PM and the ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 4PM.

V+M staff have a long history with this project, as Schaun Valdovinos, president and principal engineer at V+M led the design of the bridge in 2017 to 2019 while at his previous firm of employment. After founding the company, the V+M team supported the construction management effort as a subcontractor from 2020 to 2023, and provided critical legacy knowledge to ensure the engineering and architectural intent of the design was upheld.

We’re excited to join in on this community celebration and hope to see you there, too!

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Foothills Trail White River Pedestrian Bridge

It has been a busy start to 2023 for us here at V+M Structural Design… including the Foothills Trail White River Pedestrian Bridge going to construction! The questions from the contractor to our designers have ramped up as part of our construction support services role for King County Parks. The official groundbreaking was January 18, 2023.

The V+M Team designed this long-awaited pedestrian bridge over the White River that will connect existing trails to allow people to walk and roll along a 22-mile path from Enumclaw to Puyallup. This arch bridge will have spans measuring 172, 172, and 227 feet and is designed to carry both trail users and emergency vehicles. Our design reuses two one-hundred-year-old highway bridge piers (that will be seismically upgraded) which demonstrates that we are not afraid to tackle engineering challenges in our commitment to lessen our impact on the environment.

Do check out the V+M bridge renderings in the local Enumclaw newspaper (or zoom in on the photo above)!

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Totem Lake Connector – Pier Night Lift

Concrete is flowing again in King County. The Totem Lake Connector ped/bike bridge construction has resumed and reached a major milestone – the substructure is now in place! Over two Thursday nights this May, the precast concrete piers were lifted and lowered into the drilled shafts, and the concrete splice was completed. We are now just waiting for the steelwork to start arriving over the summer months.

V+M is working with DEA on the Construction Management services for the City of Kirkland, while Kraemer North America is building the bridge. 

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Union Street Pedestrian Bridge – Construction

The Union Street Pedestrian Bridge contract was awarded in 2020. The bridge and companion elevator will provide an accessible, user-friendly route between the downtown core and the new revitalized waterfront area. As the bridge designer, V+M is supporting the construction phase and working with the design team and contractor as work progresses. It is anticipated that foundation work will begin in Spring 2021.

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V+M in the News: 6th Street Active Transportation Bridge Options Study

V+M wrapped up work on a detailed options study for a new pedestrian bridge in downtown Courtenay, BC. The new bridge will provide a key pedestrian and cycling connection across the Courtenay River between downtown and Simms Millennium Park, while relieving cycling and foot traffic from the existing 5th Street Roadway Bridge.

The team evaluated several options for the crossing – the structure’s geometry is driven by a number of site constraints. After careful consideration of the evaluation criteria and performance of each option, the cable-stayed option emerged as the preferred alternative.

V+M presented the findings of the study to City Council for adoption and progression to the next stage, which will include advancing the preferred option to detailed design and onto construction-ready documents.

Article: https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/multiuse-bridge-in-courtenay-in-conceptual-stage/

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Totem Lake Connector – Bid Opening

The Totem Lake Connector bid occurred in March 2020, but was put on hold due to COVID-19. After re-tendering the pedestrian bridge project in September 2020, the low bidder was identified as Kraemer North America.  V+M’s Schaun Valdovinos was the bridge design lead for the project during concept development and final design. V+M continues to support the City of Kirkland on the project as a member of the Construction Management Team.  This exciting project will provide a grade separated crossing of the major intersection and will become a gateway to the Totem Lake neighborhood once it opens near the end of 2022.