The York Bridge is a 250-foot long vehicle and pedestrian bridge replacing the 116th St. bridge in Redmond, WA. The project was administered thru 4Culture, in coordination with the King County Department of Transportation Road Services Division with Entranco Engineers, DMJM Engineers, and HNTB Corporation. Cliff Garten’s participation as Lead Artist was a key part of this collaboration in determining the look of the bridge. The design involved changing the shape of the deck to include cantilevered viewpoints on opposite sides of the bridge. A curving railing system referencing the history of the Sammamish River as a meandering ox-bowed stream influenced both the inner and outer elevations of the bridge. These changes were expertly designed to integrate with the bridges crash barrier and to satisfy all engineering codes. The Redmond River Walk travels under the bridge and is an extensively used trail by kayakers, cyclists, joggers, and equestrians. In the design, the bridge is not seen as a piece of infrastructure imposed on the landscape, but as a part of the landscape and its ecology. Project Director Cath Brunner said that Cliff Garten’s role as Lead Artist “promoted a sense of grace and aesthetic integration with the surrounding landscape... (and) illustrated what is possible with an Artist serving as design lead.”
