DELANCEY STREET PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE INSTALLED AS PART OF EAST SIDE COASTAL RESILIENCY PROJECT

The Delancey Street Pedestrian Bridge – part of BIG’s East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project in Manhattan – was installed overnight above FDR Drive in Manhattan, connecting the Lower East Side neighborhood to the East River. The 215-foot long, 125-ton assembled bridge was transported along FDR Drive to its final location using self-propelled modular transporters over a span of eight hours overnight, minimizing traffic disruption. The bridge – the first of three within the ESCR project – is set to open to the public in September 2024. ESCR emerged from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Rebuild by Design competition, which sought to develop innovative design solutions to increase the resiliency of Sandy-impacted communities. Spanning a 2.5-mile area from Montgomery Street to East 25th Street within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 100-year floodplain, the project is designed to protect and improve the resiliency of the large and diverse residential community of 110,000+ New Yorkers – including approximately 28,000 NYCHA residents. ESCR will also offer protection to critical infrastructure – including a major pump station and an electrical substation that powers much of Lower Manhattan – as well as numerous local schools and libraries.