A Unified Design of Some Footbridges Crossing the Ring Road of Palermo

A proposal for the design of some pedestrian-cycle footbridges crossing the ring-road of Palermo is here presented. This project was born from a partnership between students of Palermo Faculty of Architecture and Venice University IUAV through a program of cultural exchange.

The footbridges are of the same shape and typology: a cable-stayed bridge with a central pylon and a unique semi-harp system of stays connected at the centre of the deck. Different solutions are considered for the abutments and the pedestrian slanting approaches. The pylon is composed by two metallic helical legs with constant section joined together by an horizontal beam under the deck and by a cable on the top. A longitudinal metallic box girder with transversal cantilevers and stiffening bars composes the deck section.

Two different solutions are here presented: one with a slanting ramp at the abutment and another with a compact stair-lift system at each ends of the deck.

The solution chosen for the principal structure (pylon, deck, cables) can be repeated in many sections of the ring road: so, it is possible to obtain a suitable bridge structure without losing the peculiar characteristics of each building site.