Principal Riverwalk

[Better Life dude]

Pics from the Asian Botanical Gardens looking towards the new Pedestrian Bridge and Downtown. This view is going to be one of my favorites...wow! These were taken last week...

Interesting. I didn't know they had the "waterfalls" now working at the Asian Gardens. That said, the renderings showed the water going directly into the river. That doesn't appear to be how it is working right now. Is this finally a completed project?

The Asian garden and temple is all completed and open to the public. And its beautiful. The water doesn't go into the river from the pond or the falls. That's an illusion of the photograph.

[DMRyan]

Great photos Josh. I have a feeling that will become a much more photographed angle in the coming years.

[Better Life dude]

The arch is looking good!!! The fifth piece must have just been hoisted

[dogbo]

A few observations/comments.

* it is great to see progress on the ped bridge! It looks great in person and will give people a reason to want to check out that end of the river.

* ran by the Asian Garden's yesterday to check out for the first time since it was completed. Was disappointed that the water features weren't working/on.

* why isn't anything else currently happening with the Riverwalk this summer? Soon we'll have the bridge, but still huge gaps in connectivity. Sometime this process reminds me of the person you know that isn't able to multi-task. Frustrating..

[hawk61401]

* why isn't anything else currently happening with the Riverwalk this summer? Soon we'll have the bridge, but still huge gaps in connectivity. Sometime this process reminds me of the person you know that isn't able to multi-task.

I thought the Court Ave Plaza was suppose to begin this year.

[DMRyan]

Sounds like most of the remainder of the west bank riverwalk projects will have to go out for bid again due to an oversight in trying coordinate bureaucratic requirements with both the IDNR and Corps of Engineers.

[dogbo]

Sounds like most of the remainder of the west bank riverwalk projects will have to go out for bid again due to an oversight in trying coordinate bureaucratic requirements with both the IDNR and Corps of Engineers.

Uuggghh….

(shape hand in the form of a gun….place next to temple…flick thumb in the motion of a trigger going off.)

Hummmm….still don't feel better.

[hawk61401]

Sounds like most of the remainder of the west bank riverwalk projects will have to go out for bid again due to an oversight in trying coordinate bureaucratic requirements with both the IDNR and Corps of Engineers.

I don't understand all the bureaucratic jargon on the Corps of Engineers site:

Des Moines Riverwalk. The Corps of Engineers has prepared an Engineering Documentation Report for the project and is preparing Plans and Specifications. The first Federal construction contract is scheduled for late 2008.

http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/Greenbelt/

Couldn't find anything here: http://www.iowadnr.gov/

[Better Life dude]

My take on the Army Corps of Engineers:
They are bureaucrats; they are engineers and they have Army discipline.
To sum up: they will be sticklers for doing it right & doing it their way.
This is no disrespect on my part, just that that's where they are coming from.

[DMRyan]

A few observations/comments.

* it is great to see progress on the ped bridge! It looks great in person and will give people a reason to want to check out that end of the river.

* ran by the Asian Garden's yesterday to check out for the first time since it was completed. Was disappointed that the water features weren't working/on.

* why isn't anything else currently happening with the Riverwalk this summer? Soon we'll have the bridge, but still huge gaps in connectivity. Sometime this process reminds me of the person you know that isn't able to multi-task. Frustrating..

I visited the Asian Gardens today too and it already needs some TLC. I wonder if absolutedsm.com can help in offering volunteers to help pull weeds, clean up trash and perform other minor maintenance needs to the grounds to keep in looking good. There's already a noticeably higher amount of traffic coming in to check out the Asian Garden because of the pedestrian bridge and the crowds will only get larger. We need to keep this little piece of what to see in Des Moines well maintained for these crowds. It's in an area of the riverfront that's pretty hidden from view at night and this place becomes an easy target for vandalism. I think I'll contact the Chinese Cultural Center of Iowa and Paul Shao at Iowa State to see if there's any way our community can help out.

Anyone else interested in helping out if they'll let us?

[hawk61401]

It's in an area of the riverfront that's pretty hidden from view at night and this place becomes an easy target for vandalism. I think I'll contact the Chinese Cultural Center of Iowa and Paul Shao at Iowa State to see if there's any way our community can help out.

Nationwide is helping with security and camera surveillance of the sculpture garden. Surely, we can do the same to help protect the Asian Gardens.

[DMRyan]

They do have security cameras in place and it is protected by Per Mar Security, but there are a few things there that indicate vandalism. Stolen placards, stolen decorative rocks, etc.

[dogbo]

It's in an area of the riverfront that's pretty hidden from view at night and this place becomes an easy target for vandalism. I think I'll contact the Chinese Cultural Center of Iowa and Paul Shao at Iowa State to see if there's any way our community can help out.

Nationwide is helping with security and camera surveillance of the sculpture garden. Surely, we can do the same to help protect the Asian Gardens.

There currently are a couple warning signs about surveilance camaras present. In looking around, I think I saw them.

Ryan - I like the idea of us helping out with minor upkeep. I'm game.

[Ingersoll1978]

Great idea...I'd be game.

[MrMafia]

count me in

[MrMafia]

Not to sound pushy but now that arch is complete on the bridge i have been watching the live cam and I do not see any workers or any progress. What is the hold up?

[DMRyan]

It looks to me like they're still erecting steel on the bridge deck and working away.

[Better Life dude]

Not to sound pushy but now that arch is complete on the bridge i have been watching the live cam and I do not see any workers or any progress. What is the hold up?

The workers spent the early part of this week dismantling one of the three cranes since it was no longer needed. Today another piece of the north walkway was attached.

Watching progress on construction sites is like watching grass grow.

[mustang84]

The arch is looking good!!! The fifth piece must have just been hoisted

Wow, I haven't been to downtown DSM since early June and didn't realize they were building the arch already. It looks great!

The Asian gardens looks like it came out really well too. I took a Chinese history & architecture class taught by the person who designed the Asian garden (Paul Shao) and he said the Army Corp. of Engineers wouldn't allow the water feature to discharge into the river, which is why it pools into that little pond next to the garden.

[couch]

I thought they had changed the design so it was slanted off to one side. What happened with that?

[Better Life dude]

I thought they had changed the design so it was slanted off to one side. What happened with that?

There is a huge bow in the walking decks that you can better see when looking at the bridge from the western river bank. I mean, it really curves outward toward the dam AND it has a crown in the walkway AND it will have a glass floor cross walk to connect the north and south walking decks. The view from the web cam doesn't tell the whole story.

Last Saturday, I parked my car at Wells Fargo Arena and walked down the hill to where bikes and walkers will enter the western side of the bridge. From that vantage point you see the true shape of the bridge. I don't have a camera, but someone could get some great pics from that side. Especially since at least half the deck on the northern side is now on. Just a few pieces left to go on that side now and then they'll start hanging the cables connecting the arch to the decks.

[Philby]

I thought they had changed the design so it was slanted off to one side. What happened with that?

I remember seeing a rendering like that, and while it looks really cool, I don't know that it could have made sense structurally. In order for that arch to hold up the walkway, it pretty much needs to be right above it. I think in order for the arch to be slanted like the rendering we're talking about, it would have just been decorative and they would have had to build piers in the river to hold up the walkway.

Note - I'm no engineer so I could be completely wrong...

[hawk61401]

I thought they had changed the design so it was slanted off to one side. What happened with that?

There is a huge bow in the walking decks that you can better see when looking at the bridge from the western river bank. I mean, it really curves outward toward the dam AND it has a crown in the walkway AND it will have a glass floor cross walk to connect the north and south walking decks. The view from the web cam doesn't tell the whole story.

Yes, us bridge peekers need another angle to view the progress. The view from the only web cam looks like no progress has been made since they put in the last piece of the arch.

[JMsioux]

I thought they had changed the design so it was slanted off to one side. What happened with that?

I remember seeing a rendering like that, and while it looks really cool, I don't know that it could have made sense structurally. In order for that arch to hold up the walkway, it pretty much needs to be right above it. I think in order for the arch to be slanted like the rendering we're talking about, it would have just been decorative and they would have had to build piers in the river to hold up the walkway.

Note - I'm no engineer so I could be completely wrong...

After working in the steel industry for 12-1/2 years, I saw some pretty amazing steel structures and have no doubts that it could have been made with the arch canted to one side. Money and steel go hand in hand...

[hawk61401]

I would put the Center Street bridge in the engineering class with the Helix Pedestrian bridge in Seattle .. unusual, beautiful, amazing.



here is a much better picture: http://empireds.com/portfolio/helix-ped ... structures

[Better Life dude]

I would put the Center Street bridge in the engineering class with the Helix Pedestrian bridge in Seattle .. unusual, beautiful, amazing.



here is a much better picture: http://empireds.com/portfolio/helix-ped ... structures

The quote from the design company's website about this bridge is amazing: "accurate to within 4 millimeters of the drawings."

Outcome:
The bridge adjustment procedure performed extremely well, and on the 400 foot length of the bridge the ‘as built' survey comparing it to the theoretical design showed that it was within 4mm.

[hawk61401]

The quote from the design company's website about this bridge is amazing: "accurate to within 4 millimeters of the drawings."

Outcome:
The bridge adjustment procedure performed extremely well, and on the 400 foot length of the bridge the ‘as built' survey comparing it to the theoretical design showed that it was within 4mm.

Exactly, BLd. The accuracy of the final product would not have been possible without the accuracy achieved by Dynamic Structures shop in the fabrication of the bridge components, especially the deck and arches

These people are goooood. A video of their bridge work. http://empireds.com/

Would be interesting to hear what the bridge adjustment procedure will be on the Center Street bridge.

[hawk61401]

This is a beautiful photo. But imagine when the lighted Center Street bridge is used as the backdrop for it.

oooooooh yeah ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlwwycof ... 2/sizes/l/

[DMRyan]

Only one more beam of steel to go!

[Better Life dude]

Once it's time, it looks like it could be a delicate operation to remove all the support steel framing. There's a lot of it!