St. PAUL, Minn. – More than 80 community members gathered at a northeast Minneapolis hotel today to help designers of the St. Anthony Falls (Interstate 35W) Bridge make final decisions on a number of aesthetic features of the bridge design.

Residents, business and community members, representatives from the parks, preservation and arts communities, as well as various elected and appointed officials from local, state and federal governments, voted on various aspects of the bridge design including pier shape, lighting and color.

“Today’s workshop represented a unique opportunity for community members to give their honest feedback and share their hopes for the new bridge,” said Jon Chiglo, Minnesota Department of Transportation project manager. “From day one, it’s been very important to us to have the community play an active role in determining what the new 35W bridge looks like, and we’re pleased that so many community members took the time to participate in this event.”

Participants in the all-day design workshop evaluated six specific design features, worked with Mn/DOT and FIGG staff to learn about the benefits and functions of the various options, and cast final votes for each design element.

“The collective wisdom and experience shared today was incredibly valuable in helping us fully understand the community’s vision for this project,” said Linda Figg, CEO of FIGG Bridge Engineers and the visual quality manager for the 35W Bridge project. “With this feedback, we’re confident that we can create a bridge that truly reflects the values of this community and entire state.”

The results of the charette process will be combined with public feedback from recent Mn/DOT open houses and other opportunities to complete the bridge design process. Many of the key design features, including pier shape, color, railings and retaining walls were chosen by Charette participants. Other design elements, such as landscaping, gateway monuments and feature lighting will be finalized in the coming weeks based on feedback from Charette participants and the general public.

Results of the community charette process include:

• Pier Shape – Pier Design A was selected by 74 percent of community participants.
• Retaining Walls – Gabion (native Mississippi River Valley stone) retaining walls were selected with an average rating of 7.7 out of a possible 10; nearly twice as high as ratings for the other two options.
• Gateway Monuments – Participants provided comments and feedback that will guide designers as they finalize designs for the entranceways of the bridge.
• Railings – Full open railings were selected with an average rating of 7.4 out of 10.
• Color – White was selected by nearly 67 percent of participants.
• Feature Lighting – Voting ended in a tie between a full lighting option and an option that involved lighting the superstructure and underside of the bridge piers. Participants agreed to allow the Visual Quality Advisory Team for the project to make a final decision on lighting after reviewing all of the completed design choices.

Images of the design choices selected during the
charette process can be viewed at www.mndot.gov.