The Iowa State University East Gateway Pedestrian Bridge received a 2025 PCI Design Award - Honorable Mention for Non-highway Bridge Design from the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI).
The PCI Design Awards program recognizes design excellence and construction quality using precast concrete. The program has played a pivotal role in innovation and progress within the design and construction sectors by highlighting groundbreaking ideas that overcome obstacles and enhance existing practices. The program demonstrates the ongoing commitment of designers to utilize precast concrete to achieve sustainable, economically viable, aesthetically pleasing, and quickly-constructed projects and highlights groundbreaking ideas that overcome obstacles and enhance existing practices.
Stretching a quarter mile in length, the East Gateway Pedestrian Bridge connects the stadium with parking areas to the east. The bridge, which complies with Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements, has two stair towers featuring architectural precast concrete panels embellished with ISU-themed lighting, which improves visibility for the bridge’s users while also inspiring fans on gamedays. The structure of the bridge is anchored by 77-ft-long spans composed of 42-in.-deep double tees. Given the size of the bridge, a steel design would have been prohibitively expensive. Therefore, the project team chose precast concrete products for most of the structure, including the walkway’s slab sections. The result is a bridge that is both cost effective and durable.
We are grateful to Iowa State University for making this project possible and to Wells Companies, Henkel Construction, Raker Rhodes Engineering, and all of the project partners for making it a success!
