New Pedestrian Bridge Over Kirkman Road Continues to Take Shape Near Universal Orlando

A pedestrian bridge planned for Kirkman Road (State Road 435) will take a major leap toward completion next month when the I-4 Ultimate team uses three large cranes to set the bridge in place.

Planned for as early as November 4, the work will require road closings in the evening and overnight hours. To minimize traffic disruptions, the steel pedestrian bridge that will span above Kirkman Road has been assembled on the ground. The 185-foot-long truss will be lifted, set on top of support structures and then secured into place. Three cranes will be needed to hoist the 155,000-pound unit.

Although the structure does not cross Interstate 4, the pedestrian bridge serves the overall goal of the I-4 Ultimate project to improve mobility and safety throughout the 21-mile corridor.

Tentatively scheduled to open in January 2019, the new bridge will make it safer for residents and visitors to walk or bike from the east side of Kirkman Road, where many hotels and businesses are located, to the Universal Orlando area on the west side.

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The new bridge will span Kirkman Road just north of the intersection with Major Boulevard, where crossing Kirkman Road on foot is challenging because the street-level pedestrian crosswalk stretches across nine lanes of traffic.

The new bridge not only will make it safer for people and vehicles in the area, but it also will reduce the number of times traffic on busy Kirkman Road must come to halt to allow pedestrians to walk across 140 feet of traffic lanes – nearly half the length of a football field.

The total length of the ramps to and from the bridge plus the elevated span will be 882 feet. The ramps will be 10 feet wide. For more information or to keep updated on temporary road and lane closures, visit i4ultimate.com/construction-map.

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