The Bright Future of the Pedestrian Bridge

A decade ago, it was unusual to design a bridge with space for pedestrians or cyclists, says Ted Zoli, National Bridge Chief Engineer for the architecture and civil engineering firm HNTB. Today it's unusual not to give these modes space—or, in some cases, the entire structure. Even bridges that seem primarily suited for vehicle traffic must include what Zoli calls, in the parlance of engineers, "shared-use path facilities"; the new Tappan Zee Bridge will have one, he points out, as will a bridge HNTB is designing on I-95.

"Now every major project I'm working on has a shared-use path—a bicycle- or pedestrian-defined path—integrated into the design," says Zoli. "I would say the future of pedestrian bridges is significant in the practice of bridge design in urban areas."