Footbridge

A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian

overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.[1] While the primary meaning for a
bridge is a structure which links "two points at a height above the ground", a footbridge can
also be a lower structure, such as a boardwalk, that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile,
or marshy land.[2] Bridges range from stepping stones–possibly the earliest man- made
structure to "bridge" water–to elaborate steel structures. Another early bridge would have been
simply a fallen tree. In some cases a footbridge can be both functional and artistic.

Wooden footbridge with a worker busy at its consolidation, in Laos

A footbridge in S haharah District, Yemen

For rural communities in the developing world, a footbridge may be a community's only access
to medical clinics, schools, businesses and markets. Simple suspension bridge designs have
been developed to be sustainable and easily constructed in such areas using only local
materials and labor.

An enclosed footbridge between two buildings is sometimes known as a skyway. Bridges

providing for both pedestrians and cyclists are often referred to as greenbridges and form an
important part of a sustainable transport system.

Footbridges are often situated to allow pedestrians to cross water or railways in areas where
there are no nearby roads. They are also located across roads to let pedestrians cross safely
without slowing traffic. The latter is a type of pedestrian separation structure, examples of
which are particularly found near schools.

Early history

S tepping stones, across the River Rothay, in the Lake District, England
The simplest type of a bridge is stepping stones, so this may have been one of the earliest
types of footbridge. Neolithic people also built a form of a boardwalk across marshes, of
which the Sweet Track, and the Post Track are examples from England, that are around 6000
years old.[3] Undoubtedly ancient peoples would also have used log bridges; that is a timber
bridge [4] that fall naturally or are intentionally felled or placed across streams. Some of the first
man- made bridges with significant span were probably intentionally felled trees.[5]

Among the oldest timber bridges is the Holzbrücke Rapperswil- Hurden crossing upper Lake
Zürich in Switzerland; the prehistoric timber piles discovered to the west of the Seedamm
date back to 1523 B.C. The first wooden footbridge led across Lake Zürich, followed by
several reconstructions at least until the late 2nd century AD, when the Roman Empire built a 6-
metre- wide (20 ft) wooden bridge. Between 1358 and 1360, Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, built a
'new' wooden bridge across the lake that has been used to 1878 – measuring approximately
1,450 metres (4,760 ft) in length and 4 metres (13 ft) wide. On April 6, 2001, the reconstructed
wooden footbridge was opened, being the longest wooden bridge in Switzerland.

A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of Devon (Dartmoor and
Exmoor) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey,
Cumbria, Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is formed by large flat slabs of stone, often granite or
schist, supported on stone piers (across rivers), or resting on the banks of streams. Although
often credited with prehistoric origin, most were erected in medieval times, and some in later
centuries.[6] A famous example is found in the village of Postbridge. First recorded in the 14th
century, the bridge is believed to have been originally built in the 13th century to enable pack
horses to cross the river. Nowadays clapper bridges are only used as footbridges.

The Kapellbrücke is a 204- metre- long (669 ft) footbridge crossing the River Reuss in the city
of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, and one of
Switzerland's main tourist attractions. The bridge was originally built c. 1365[7] as part of
Lucerne's fortifications.

An early example of a skyway is the Vasari Corridor, an elevated, enclosed passageway in

Florence, central Italy, which connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. Beginning
on the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio, it then joins the Uffizi Gallery and leaves on its south
side, crossing the Lungarno dei Archibusieri and then following the north bank of the River Arno
until it crosses the river at Ponte Vecchio. It was built in five months by order of Duke Cosimo I
de' Medici in 1565, to the design of Giorgio Vasari.

Bank Bridge is a famous 25 metre long pedestrian bridge crossing the Griboedov Canal in
Saint Petersburg, Russia. Like other bridges across the canal, the existing structure dates
from 1826. The special popularity of the bridge was gained through angular sculptures of four
winged lions crowning the abutments. They were designed by sculptor Pavel Sokolov (1764-
1835), who also contributed lions for Bridge of Lions.

Design

A footbridge seen in Walbridge Park, Toledo, Ohio, 1895

Design of footbridges normally follows the same principles as for other bridges. However,
because they are normally significantly lighter than vehicular bridges, they are more vulnerable
to vibration and therefore dynamics effects are often given more attention in design.[8]
International attention has been drawn to this issue in recent years by problems on the Pont de
Solférino in Paris and the Millennium Bridge in London.

To ensure footbridges are accessible to disabled and other mobility- impaired people, careful
consideration is nowadays also given to provision of access lifts or ramps, as required by
relevant legislation (e.g. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in the UK).[8] Some old bridges in
Venice are now equipped with a stairlift so that residents with a disability can cross them.

Types
A simple French footbridge

Types of footbridges include:

Beam Bridge

Boardwalk

Clapper bridge

Duckboards, Timber trackway, Plank road, and Corduroy road

Moon bridge

Simple suspension bridge

Simple truss

Stepping stones

Zig- zag bridge

The residential- scale footbridges all span a short distance and can be used for a broad range
of applications. Complicated engineering is not needed and the footbridges are built with
readily available materials and basic tools.[9]

Different types of design footbridges include:

Timber footbridges

Steel footbridges
 Concrete footbridge

Footbridges can also be built in the same ways as road or rail bridges; particularly suspension
bridges and beam bridges. Some former road bridges have had their traffic diverted to
alternative crossings and have become pedestrian bridges; examples in the UK include The
Iron Bridge at Ironbridge, Shropshire, the Old Bridge at Pontypridd and Windsor Bridge at
Windsor, Berkshire.

Most footbridges are equipped with guard rails to reduce the risk of pedestrians falling. Where
they pass over busy roads or railways, they may also include a fence or other such barrier to
prevent pedestrians from jumping, or throwing projectiles onto the traffic below.

Railways

Tilak Nagar S tation in Mumbai

It was originally usual for passengers to cross from one railway platform to another by
stepping over the tracks, but from the mid- 19th century onwards safety demanded the
provision of a footbridge (or underpass) at busier places. However, in some quieter areas,
crossing the line by walking over the tracks is possible.

Catwalk

Narrow footbridges or walkways to allow workers access to parts of a structure otherwise

difficult to reach are referred as catwalks or cat walks.[10] Such catwalks are located above a
stage (theater catwalk) in a theater, between parts of a building, along the side of a bridge, on
the inside of a tunnel, on the outside of any large storage tank in a refinery or elsewhere, etc.
The walkway on the outside (top) of a railroad cars such as boxcars, before air brakes came
into use, or on top of some covered hopper cars is also called a catwalk.[11] With the
exception of those on top of railroad cars, catwalks are equipped with railings or handrails.

In developing countries

Helvetas-type footbridge in Rubaksa, Ethiopia

Since the early 1980s, several charities have developed standardized footbridge designs that
are sustainable for use in developing countries. The first charity to develop such designs was
Helvetas, located in Zurich, Switzerland.[12] Designs that can be sustainably and efficiently
used in developing countries are typically made available to the public gratis.

Long footbridges

A section of the Poughkeepsie Bridge, New York S tate, US A.

The record for the longest footbridge in the world was claimed by then New York State
Governor David Paterson in an Oct. 3, 2009 Poughkeepsie Journal article about The Walkway
Poughkeepsie Bridge across the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, New York.[13] On July 22,
2017, the Champlain Bridge Ice Structure (French: l'Estacade Champlain , a bridge built for
bicycles and foot traffic only to parallel the Champlain Bridge from Brossard, Quebec west to
Nun's Island (L'ile Des Soeurs) & the Island of Montreal, was measured by a calibrated device
as being 7,512 feet (2,292 meters) long or 1.4227 miles or 2.292km, starting and ending where
the treadway rises above the ground and a pedestrian could access the bridge as close as
possible to the St Lawrence River.

Arouca 516, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge, which spans the River Paiva, Arouca
Geopark, Portugal, opened in April 2021. The 516 metres bridge hangs 175 meters above the
river.[14]

The United Wholesale Mortgage Pedestrian Bridge in Pontiac, Michigan is the longest
enclosed pedestrian bridge, completed in October 1, 2021. The 305 metre bridge was part of a
$250 million project to UWM’s offices, which converted a former warehouse and utilized
shipping containers for offices, corridors, and other spaces. [15]

The Walkway Over The Hudson footbridge was originally built for trains, it was recently
restored as a pedestrian walkway. The footbridge has a total length of 2,063 meters (6,768
feet). Before it was demolished in 2011, the Hornibrook Bridge which crossed Bramble Bay in
Queensland, Australia was longer than the Poughkeepsie Bridge at 2.684 km (1.7 mi).[16]

Other footbridges

The Bank Bridge and the Bridge of Four Lions in Saint Petersburg

The Big Dam Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas

The Big Four Bridge between Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana

The Capilano Suspension Bridge in British Columbia

The Central Elevated Walkway, an extensive network of footbridges in Central, Victoria City,
Hong Kong

The Chain of Rocks Bridge near St. Louis, Missouri

The Corktown Footbridge in Ottawa

The Davenport Skybridge in Davenport, Iowa

The Dunlop Bridge at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, Sarthe, France

The Esplanade Riel in Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, London, England

The Goodwill Bridge at Brisbane, Australia

the Gorkha Bridge in the Gorkha District of Nepal

The Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin, Ireland

The Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges, London, England

The Jade Belt Bridge in the Summer Palace in Beijing

The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, Omaha, Nebraska

The Kingsgate Bridge in Durham, England

The Liberty Bridge at Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, South Carolina

The Millennium Bridge and the high- level walkways in Tower Bridge in London

The Matagarup Bridge in Perth, Western Australia

The Mishima Skywalk in Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan

The Newport Southbank Bridge between Newport, Kentucky and Cincinnati

The Pont des Arts in Paris

The Ponte Milvio in Rome

The Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome

The Pushkinsky and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Pedestrian bridges in Moscow

The Rolling Bridge at Paddington Basin, London

The St Elmo Bridge in Valletta, Malta

The Southbank footbridge in Southbank, Victoria

The Shelby Street Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee

The Tournament Bridge* The Waco Suspension Bridge in Waco, Texas

The pedestrian walkway over the Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard intersection in Paradise,
Nevada

The Walnut Street Bridges in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Chattanooga, Tennessee

The Webb bridge in the Melbourne Docklands

The Willimantic Footbridge in Willimantic, Connecticut

Advantages

Much rural travel takes place on local footpaths, tracks and village roads. These provide
essential access to water, firewood, farm plots and the classified road network. Communities
and/or local government are generally responsible for this infrastructure.[17]

Disadvantages

Pedestrian overpasses over highways or railroads are expensive, especially when elevators
or long ramps for wheelchair users are required. Without elevators or ramps, people with
mobility handicaps will not be able to use the structure. People may prefer to walk across a
busy road rather than climb a bridge, and this may be attributed to being in a hurry,[18]
perceiving the safety and security of the footbridge to be low,[19] or simply because of feeling
tiredness when climbing the stairs.[20] It is recommended that overpasses should only be
used where the number of users justify the costs.[21] The operational concept of the
footbridge is based on the notion that pedestrians need to walk a longer distance and exert
more physical effort so that the traffic flow is not interrupted. This is not in line with the
sustainability goals of the transport system promoting active travel such as walking and
cycling. A change of policy to increase safety and walkability could involve transferring that
effort of crossing the road to drivers who will need to wait longer so pedestrians can cross
the road safely at street level.[22]

Narrow, enclosed structures can result in perceptions of low personal security among users.
Wider structures and good lighting can help reduce this.[23]

Gallery
 Boardwalk across the High Fens, Ardenne, Belgium

The BP Pedestrian Bridge is a concealed box girder beam bridge in Millennium Park, Chicago.

A stressed ribbon bridge for pedestrians, bicycles, and pipelines in Grants Pass, Oregon
 A footbridge to an orthodox church in Greece

Melbourne's Sandridge Bridge which overpasses the Yarra River.

The Puente de la Mujer in Puerto Madero is a footbridge and swing bridge.

 A pedestrian overcross in Nanjing Road, Shanghai.

A footbridge over the Fujikawa (Fuji) river at Suruga in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan.

A footbridge with elevators on each corner of a four- way intersection in Tokyo.

 Tamchog Chakzam bridge, Bhutan

Ponte della Costituzione footbridge over the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy.

A footbridge for hikers in Washington state's Mount Baker- Snoqualmie National Forest, USA.
Footbridge, part of the Appalachian Trail, USA.

Wooden footbridge in Vang Vieng, Laos.

The "Ypsilon" Y- bridge in Drammen, Norway.

 MMDA Footbridge in EDSA, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Matagarup Bridge in Perth, Australia.

See also

Footpath

Garden Bridge, London, England

Hoogholtje bridge, Netherlands

Pedestrian separation structure (overpass)

Pedway

Walkway and Canopy walkway

Wildlife crossing

References

1. Oxford English Dictionary

 2. Oxford English Dictionary

3. Brunning, Richard (February 2001). "The Somerset Levels". Current Archaeology. XV (4) (172
(Special issue on Wetlands)): 139–143.

4. National Parks Conference, Department of the Interior (1915). Proceedings of the National parks
conference held at Berkeley, California March 11, 12, and 13, 1915 (https://archive.org/details/pro
ceedingsnati01confgoog) . Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 60 (https://archive.org/d
etails/proceedingsnati01confgoog/page/n443) . Retrieved March 14, 2010. "(A log bridge) is a
bridge composed of log beams, the logs being in natural condition or hewn, which are thrown
across two abutments, and over which traffic may pass."

5. Bennett, David (2000). "The history and development of bridges" (https://books.google.com/book

s?id=8PGk81gtCywC&pg=PA1) . In Ryall, M. J.; Parke, G.A.R.; Harding, J.E. (eds.). The manual of
bridge engineering (https://books.google.com/books?id=8PGk81gtCywC) (Google books) .
London: Thomas Telford. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-7277-2774-9. Retrieved March 14, 2010.

6. A Guide to the Archaeology of Dartmoor (https://web.archive.org/web/20081006185810/http://ww

w.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/au-arch.pdf) (PDF) . Dartmoor National Park Authority. 2003. p. 27.
ISBN 1-84114-226-3. Archived from the original (http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/au-arch.pdf)
(PDF) on 6 October 2008.

7. "Vor 20 Jahren brannte die Kapellbrücke" (http://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/nachrichten/zentralschw

eiz/luzern/Vor-20-Jahren-brannte-die-Kapellbruecke;art92,283526) . Luzerner Zeitung (in
German). Lucerne, Switzerland. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 2017-06-02.

8. Schlaich, Mike, et al., Guidelines for the Design of Footbridges, International Federation for
Structural Concrete, 2005, ISBN 2-88394-072-X

9. Jeswald, P. (2005). How to build paths, steps & Footbridges. North Adams, Massachusetts:
Storey Publishing.

10. "Negligence Petroleum storage tank exploded" (http://www.boothkoskoff.com/wp-content/upload

s/2013/01/leavitt2.pdf) (PDF) . July 2000.

11. "catwalk" (http://www.webster-dictionary.net/definition/catwalk) . webster-dictionary.net.

Retrieved 10 April 2015.

12. [1] (http://www.helvetas.ch/nepal/wEnglish/projects/TBSU/tbsu.asp?navid=16) Archived (http

s://web.archive.org/web/20120503094258/http://www.helvetas.ch/nepal/wEnglish/projects/TBS
U/tbsu.asp?navid=16) May 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

13. "WALKWAY OPENS, THOUSANDS EXPLORE UNIQUE STATE PARK" (https://web.archive.org/web/20

150402111932/http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20091003%2
FQUAD%2F91003006) . Poughkeepsie Journal. Poughkeepsie, New York. October 3, 2009.
Archived from the original (http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2009
1003/QUAD/91003006) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
14. "World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Portugal" (https://www.theguardian.com/
world/2021/apr/29/worlds-longest-pedestrian-suspension-bridge-opens-in-portugal) . The
Guardian. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

15. "YEA 2021- United Wholesale Mortgage Pedestrian Bridge & Office Renovation" (https://csengineer
mag.com/yea-2021-united-wholesale-mortgage-pedestrian-bridge-office-renovation/) . Civil +
Structural Engineer Media. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

16. "Final Curtain for the Hornibrook Highway" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110706113432/http://

northside-chronicle.whereilive.com.au/your-news/story/final-curtain-for-the-hornibrook-highwa
y/) . Archived from the original (http://northside-chronicle.whereilive.com.au/your-news/story/fin
al-curtain-for-the-hornibrook-highway/) on 2011-07-06.

17. "Foot Bridges: A Manual for Construction at Community and District Level" (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20070715122545/http://www.ittransport.co.uk/documents/footbridge%20brochure.pdf)
(PDF) . I.T. Transport. Prepared for the Department for International Development (DFID), UK. 2004.
Archived from the original (http://www.ittransport.co.uk/documents/footbridge%20brochure.pd
f) (PDF) on July 15, 2007. Also available on the British government website gov.uk (https://www.
gov.uk/research-for-development-outputs/footbridges-a-manual-for-construction-at-community-an
d-district-level) .

18. Hasan, Razi; Napiah, Madzlan (3 April 2018). "The perception of Malaysian pedestrians toward the
use of footbridges". Traffic Injury Prevention. 19 (3): 292–297.
doi:10.1080/15389588.2017.1373768 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F15389588.2017.1373768) .

19. Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar; Scott-Parker, Bridie (August 2017). "Footbridge usage in high-traffic
flow highways: The intersection of safety and security in pedestrian decision-making".
Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 49: 177–187.
doi:10.1016/j.trf.2017.06.010 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.trf.2017.06.010) .

20. Hasan, Razi; Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar; Napiah, Madzlan (August 2020). "An intercept study of
footbridge users and non-users in Malaysia". Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology
and Behaviour. 73: 66–79. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2020.05.011 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.trf.2020.
05.011) .

21. "Pedestrian Overpasses/Underpasses" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130604031027/http://ww

w.walkinginfo.org/engineering/crossings-overpasses.cfm) . Pedestrian Bicycle Information
Center. Archived from the original (http://www.walkinginfo.org/engineering/crossings-overpass
es.cfm) on 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2013-11-14.

22. Hasan, Razi; Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar; Napiah, Madzlan (August 2020). "An intercept study of
footbridge users and non-users in Malaysia". Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology
and Behaviour. 73: 66–79. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2020.05.011 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.trf.2020.
05.011) .
23. Rory Renfro (June 2007). "Pedestrian/Bicycle Overcrossings: Lessons Learned" (http://web.pdx.ed
u/%7Ejdill/Files/Renfro_Bike-Ped_Overcrossings_Report.pdf) (PDF) . Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20100609173100/http://web.pdx.edu/%7Ejdill/Files/Renfro_Bike-Ped_Overcrossings_Re
port.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2010-06-09.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Footbridges .

Look up catwalk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

How To Build a Footbridge (http://www.redwoodbridges.com/build_ footbridge.html)

Timber Pedestrian Bridge Images (https://www.ybc.com/timber- bridge- project- gallery/ped

estrian- bridge- gallery/)

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Footbridge&oldid=1084156465"

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