Raising the Red Bridge

When Stanley Consultants rehabilitated an abandoned 500-foot-long Union Railway bridge in downtown Des Moines, it was transformed into a red pedestrian bridge that quickly became a city icon. A decade later, the city found itself at a critical crossroads when an updated flow frequency analysis on the Des Moines River reported that the risk of flooding was now nearly double previous estimates, and that the Red Bridge’s height would exacerbate flooding. Stanley Consultants prepared options for elevating or demolishing the bridge. The bridge’s history and popularity led the city to spare it from demolition. To raise the million-pound bridge, both end spans were removed, and the remaining spans were raised in 12-inch increments using 30 hydraulic jacks. Stanley Consultants designed the bridge elevation, pier caps and approaches for this award-winning project.