Purpose
When the downtown portion of Interstate 40 is relocated just to the south of its current location, Oklahoma City officials were looking for a pedestrian connection between downtown and the blossoming Oklahoma River area. In addition to its obvious functional elements, the bridge, named the Skydance, will be a huge and iconic modernistic sight for I-40 drivers.Design
After a design competition that included 16 firms, Oklahoma City chose the submission by Architect MKEC Engineering and Butzer Design Partnership, led by Hans Butzer. Butzer is well-known as the designer of the Oklahoma City National Memorial.The Look
The Skydance Pedestrian Bridge design is said to be inspired by the "sky dance" of the scissor-tailed flycatcher, Oklahoma's state bird. The 18-story structure will be 30-feet wide and stretch 440-feet across the semi-depressed section of the new 10-lane I-40 south of downtown. Wings will rise above the bridge, reaching as high as 185 feet in the air, and a 66-inch high ornamental metal railing spans the length of bridge.The bridge will be made of stainless steel panels that will shimmer in the sun, and uplighting at night will emit a skyward glow. The wings, to be made from a translucent material, will appear to glow from within.
See more design photos: long shot, night view, day view and special event view. All images copyright Skydance Design LLC / Butzer Design Partnership.
Funding & Construction
Construction of the Skydance Pedestrian Bridge will begin in August 2011, just as the I-40 constructions enter final stages. Estimated completion date for the bridge is April 2012.The estimated $6.6 million construction cost will be funded by both city and federal money, about $3.5 million coming from the Oklahoma State Department of Transportation's federal funding and the rest from the city of Oklahoma City.
