side view of Little Vince Bayou Pedestrian Bridge

The existing pedestrian bridge located at Gardens Elementary School served as a short cut to school, allowing students to cross Little Vince Bayou. Pasadena Independent School District maintenance crews notified the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) about safety concerns on the existing bridge, which was built in 1969.

Aguirre & Fields was called out by HCFCD to conduct an inspection and assessment of the bridge. The findings warranted a new pedestrian bridge. HCFCD gave notice to proceed on May 8th and wanted the new bridge to be in place on or before August 21st, the first day of school for Gardens Elementary.

As soon as the Notice To Proceed (NTP) was given, our design team provided survey limits and identified geotechnical boring locations in Google Earth. HCFCD used their on-call providers for these services, with survey being provided on May 17th and Geotech report complete on June 19th. Our past experience in designing pedestrian bridges allowed us to advance the planset before the survey was complete. Aguirre & Fields contacted prefabricated bridge manufacturers for types of bridges that can be manufactured in 4-6 weeks. These manufacturers provided specifications to be included in the plan submittal.

The design and construction were completed by August 21st, providing improved access for elementary students to cross Little Vince Bayou to school.

Pasadena ISD produced the video below to spotlight the bridge’s installation.