It is no easy task to replace a bridge built in 1906 that had become a beloved, historic landmark, spanning the Cedar River in Charles City, Iowa. That original bridge, which had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was lost to record flooding in 2008. Ronstan Tensile Architecture provided the cable assemblies and balustrade hand rail infill to make this design vision a reality.
Aside from its historical significance, the residents of Charles City depend on this bridge for pedestrian access to recreational facilities. As soon as funding for a new bridge was confirmed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, community members joined together to collaborate on a new design which would be as beautiful as the original.
The team to make the design vision a reality included consultants from WHKS & Co., Iowa Bridge and Culverts and Big R Bridge. The new cable stayed bridge consists of 4 spans of cable, anchored to 65 foot inverted “A” shaped towers. The total bridge length is 420 feet and a deck width of 10 feet.
The entire structure was designed to be pre-fabricated by Big R Bridge and installed on site. The installation took only two days. The Galfan coated cable stays are made up of 32 cables, each 24.4mm in diameter and range in length from 50 to 100 feet.
Ronstan Tensile Architecture was chosen as a supplier because of our extensive experience with cable stayed bridges, and Galfan coated cable assemblies.
Ronstan also provided the cable infill on the railing system consisting of over 100 assemblies with swage terminal adjusters. These cables met the requirements to ensure a high level of safety while preserving aesthetics consistent with the overall design.
All photos provided by Big R Bridge
