This $1.9 million project required full professional services from surveys and soils testing through construction inspection. Services included utilities research, final trail horizontal/vertical alignment, civil/structural engineering for bridge and tunnel, electrical engineering for lighting, utilities engineering, landscape design and community/governmental coordination. Four municipal agencies, two state agencies, a federal agency and a private land owner/developer were all involved in the project. The local Community Council and trail user groups included pedestrians, cyclists, cross-country skiers, and dog mushers.

Interestingly, the trail was designed for both cross-country skiers and dog-mushing teams, as it is a part of the Iditarod and Fur Rondy Race trail systems in the winter. The trail runs through a private office park, whose owner wanted uninterrupted views of a pond and mountains from the buildings-- all of which required raising an entire street and constructing a tunnel. High water tables near the tunnel, buried water, gas, electricity and telephone lines, and high-voltage overhead power lines left limited "windows" through which the trail, bridge and tunnel had to be threaded-- a very challenging set of constraints.

Steel decks have long had the problem of surfacing or overlay disbonding. For this project, bonding layer impact testing to -70o F produced a solution. A high-solids urethane was found which bonds to the sand-blasted steel deck. Pea gravel broadcast into the bonding layer provided traction for conventional asphalt concrete overlay paving. High seismic ground movement and large thermal changes were easily handled by the curved bridge with no need for any joints. Long-term steel protection from corrosion and discoloration was addressed through the use of spray metalizing with a color coat overlay.

The bridge-- because of its torsional strength and light weight-- was assembled near the crossing, moved, and lifted in one piece. Tudor Road closure was limited to only 24 hours.

The landscape now features twenty different trees and shrubs specifically chosen for the short growing season and for low appeal to the Alaskan Moose. The landscape subcontractor, American Landscaping, assisted with the placement of topsoil, wildflowers and three seed schedules for slope stabilization.

Wildflowers on the site help introduce color to an otherwise very urbanized Alaskan arterial road system and trail. In coordination with the bridge's dark green and beige color scheme, site furnishings (benches and trash receptacles) that repeated the colors were added to the rest areas. Red bike racks and stone enhancements accent the entire design.