April 11, 2002 == FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The bridge that spans the East Beltline and dramatically links the main Calvin
campus with the new east campus is a visible reminder that expansion is taking
place at the college.
On May 8 the school will celebrate the completion of that 380-foot pedestrian
bridge (almost as long as four football fields) with a short service of
dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a walk across the bridge to
the east campus for refreshments. The event will mark a construction process
that took almost one year exactly from start to finish.
The service, to be held at the western foot of the bridge, on the main campus,
will include all three living Calvin presidents: current president Dr. Gaylen
Byker; his immediate predecessor, Dr. Anthony Diekema; and the man who was
president when Calvin purchased the Knollcrest campus in the 1950s, Dr. William
Spoelhof.
Together they will officially open the approximately $4 million span, cutting
the ribbon and leading the first walk across a bridge that is unprecedented in
the state.
"There's nothing like it," says Calvin vice president Henry DeVries. "It not
only will carry people across the East Beltline, it also carries all of the
heating and cooling and communications needs for the new campus from the old
campus."
It is that second factor that makes the bridge unique.
"There are pedestrian bridges in the state," says DeVries, "but this one
doubles as part of our powerplant. That meant significantly more engineering
considerations."
Consequently the bridge is made up of four sections or trusses of structural
steel. All told the bridge's steel alone weights about 150 tons. The floor of
the bridge is five inches of concrete on top of steel decking with 4,000 to
5,000 sections of special tiling laid, by hand, on top of that. And then two
ribbons of glass window panes (with each pane each weighing between 125 and 175
pounds) and a metal domed roof enclose the structure.
"It's solid," says Marty Malek of Wolverine Construction, which is coordinating
the project.
The bridge is also designed for safety, both for the safety of Calvin students
and employees who need to cross the Beltline between the two campuses and also
for the safety of the thousands of cars that pass below it each day on the East
Beltline. There is a sophisticated snowmelt system on the roof to ensure that
chunks of snow and ice do not fall from the roof to the road below. And the
entire roof is specially designed as a domed roof with two layers of steel
seperated by four inches of insulation, thus keeping the inside layer warm and
the outside layer cold.
In addition all of the lighting inside the bridge, which will be open 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, is both muted and directed straight down, minimizing
glare for drivers on the Beltine. And the bridge is 20 feet above the road at
its highest point, providing plenty of clearance for vehicles.
Although the bridge passes over one of the busiest roads in Grand Rapids,
Calvin architect Frank Gorman wanted to create a subtle nautical theme for the
span. He notes that the this theme is present inside and outside the bridge.
For example, the tiled floor of the bridge, hand-designed by 1978 Calvin
graduate Dave Daining of Beta Design. At each end of the bridge the tiles are
earth tones, browns and greys and greens. But in the middle of the bridge the
tiles change to blues. The pattern is intended to depict a transition from land
to water. And that ties together work Gorman did in designing the two towers of
the bridge, one on either side of the East Beltline, to look like lighthouses.
The senior class at Calvin is excited about the bridge. It is raising funds
for two plaques with the Calvin nameplate that will adorn the two towers.
Members of the senior class will play a role in the May 8 ceremony as well.
The bridge will be a big benefit to the Calvin community. It also will benefit
those who drive the Beltline. That's because the crosswalk and light on the
northbound Beltline, just north of Burton Street, will be eliminated in early
June thanks to the bridge, thus improving traffic flow at the corner of Burton
and the Beltline.
The two new buildings that the bridge will connect with, the DeVos
Communication Center and the Prince Conference Center, are slated to open in
September 2002.
Contact Henry DeVries at 616-957-6149.
Also see http://www.calvin.edu/map/devos_prince/
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