Universal City Station Pedestrian Bridge

The Universal City Station Pedestrian Bridge is the fulfillment of a decades-long quest by Metro and NBC Universal to provide a grade-separated path of travel between the Universal Studios Theme Park and the Universal City Red Line Station.  The L-shaped, 400-foot bridge spans over both Lankershim Boulevard and Universal Hollywood Drive and serves as a high-profile gateway to the Universal Studios theme park.  The bridge offers safe and convenient pedestrian access in the area surrounding the Metro Rail’s Red Line Station and the Universal Studios Shuttle Stop, giving people access to three corners of this busy intersection.

The structure of this unique bridge — with its visually light, transparent architecture and “roofless design” — consists of an exposed  V-section steel through-truss supported on four tubular steel columns with a maximum span of nearly 150 feet across Lankershim Boulevard.  Wind and seismic forces are resisted by steel buckling-restrained braced frames in the three elevator shafts and in the middle staircase.  Extensive 3-D dynamic modeling of the structure was needed to ensure that it performed well under seismic, wind, vehicle collision and pedestrian loading.

Awards

2016 Outstanding Bridge Project of the Year, American Society of Civil Engineers, Los Angeles