Building a Bike Gateway, Part 7
Missed our earlier installments? Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6
The first piece of Bike Gate is officially in the ground.
This afternoon, crews from Wagner General Contractors and Tylur French’s Youngblood Studio are installing the two 13-foot steel towers that will form the bases for the Bike Gate sculpture. The towers are just the first part of the sculpture to go in–the bike arch will rise to 25 feet off the ground.
The bikes will begin going up in about two weeks. Tylur has some finishing touches he’ll be putting on the paint and arrangement, as well as details to add (like the chain pattern that forms a component of the towers, the sculpture will be full of touches that salute the cycling community). The sculpture will also feature LED lighting, so that it can glow against the night sky and the tree canopy.
Elsewhere at the plaza, the concrete and surfacing in the southeast corner has been laid. Crews have installed the bollards that separate the plaza from the street and are smoothing and polishing them. Eventually, reflective elements will be added to make the bollards visible to cars at night, and landscaping will add to the visual interest.
From the front of the plaza, construction will work its way backwards toward the park. The remainder of the foundation will be laid, and ultimately a path will be created linking the plaza to the Old Forest trail system. The path will be funded by a Recreational Trail Program grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, while primary funding for the plaza came from the First Tennessee Foundation.
We expect the plaza to open in the first quarter of 2014, and we plan to celebrate! We’ll keep you posted about when we expect to welcome our first cyclists.
Want to be a part of the plaza? You can still order a personalized paver for $250! Orders received through tomorrow, December 18, are guaranteed to be a part of the plaza at its grand opening. Orders received after that date are not guaranteed for the opening date, but will be installed at the plaza afterward. Go here to get yours.
