I-35 Bridge Gateway Elements
Gateway elements cast with TX Active photocatalytic white cement from HeidelbergCement’s US subsidiary greet travelers on the new Interstate 35 West Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Two gleaming white concrete sculptures, each comprised of three wave-formed columns, tower 30-feet high on each side of the bridge in a vertical interpretation of the universal symbol for water.
The sculptures were developed by the design team of FIGG and Oslund, working with the Visual Quality Advisory Group set up by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to include community and park service representatives. Concrete was produced by Minnesota’s Cemstone Products Company and precast by Stoneworks Architectural Precast. The I-35 W Bridge was constructed by Flatiron-Mason Construction Company and designed by FIGG.
The photocatalytic action of TX Active eliminates the various pollutants – vehicle exhaust gas, flue gas from domestic heating, industrial discharges of chemicals, pesticides – which come into contact with the concrete surface, transforming them into substances which do not harm the environment. This allows the original aesthetic appearance of the structure or of the work to be preserved over time.
The bridge was opened to traffic in September 2008, just 13 months after the original bridge collapsed.
