In 2004, the Iowa West Foundation funded a community based public art master planning process designating more than 50 sites for potential placement of public art in the city of Council Bluffs. Broadway Viaduct was high on the list because of its location at the center of the most prominent artery in the city, and because it would soon be rebuilt. Ed Carpenter was selected by Iowa West’s public art selection committee and has been working since mid-2008 with a large design team on the proposal shown here, officially adopted in early 2009. Collaborating closely with professionals from the City of Council Bluffs, Iowa Department of Transportation, Schemmer Engineering, and RDG Landscape Architecture, Carpenter assisted with the overall aesthetics of the new bridge as well as conceiving his gateway at its center. The experience of passing over the half-mile-long viaduct will be enhanced by the incorporation of an array of ascending, tilted, and brightly painted light poles at 40’ intervals on either side. The gateway itself will frame dramatic views to the east and west, and may suggest a sunrise or the interweaving of disparate parts of the community.

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Client: Iowa West Foundation.

Title: Council Bluffs Viaduct Gateway.
Completion: 2011-2012.

Design: Ed Carpenter
Materials: Steel, aluminum, laminated  dichroic glass, stainless steel cables  and hardware, lighting.
Dimensions: 76’ x 99’
Renderings: Oanh Tran
Project Administration: Arleen  Daugherty
Engineering: Grant Davis and KPFF