Signature Bridges Open for Fort Worth’s Panther Island
A ribbon-cutting ceremony October 16 celebrated the opening of the City of Fort Worth’s Henderson Street Bridge and the completion of the set of three signature bridges for the Trinity River Vision Panther Island project.
Freese and Nichols, in collaboration with renowned bridge architect Miguel Rosales, designed the three bridges that will serve as landmarks for the new Panther Island riverfront. They have an innovative design with a thin concrete superstructure supported by dramatic V-piers spaced 200 feet apart, which are lit at night with elegant LED lighting.
The first two Panther Island bridges, White Settlement Road and Main Street, opened earlier in 2021. A new bypass channel will be constructed underneath the bridges to reroute the Trinity River for increased flood protection.
The Panther Island bridges have a thin superstructure of cast-in-place post-tensioned concrete box girders supported by dramatic V-piers, lighted with LED fixtures at night.
Freese and Nichols CEO Brian Coltharp, third from right, joins local officials for the Henderson Street bridge ribbon-cutting ceremony.
At the south end of the Henderson Street bridge is one of the largest modern roundabouts in the Southwest. Freese and Nichols designed it to provide a traffic solution that meets urban design goals for the area.
The White Settlement Road Bridge opened in spring 2021. On hand from the Freese and Nichols project team were Mary Martin, Marketing; Larry Eckersley, Chief Operating Officer; Will Workman, Structural; Architect Miguel Rosales of Rosales + Partners; John Dewar, Project Manager; and Dan Koss, Electrical.
Vintage cars line up to parade over the Henderson Street bridge. On the horizon is Burnett Plaza, home of Freese and Nichols’ headquarters.
