Located south of Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia, Pa., the Schuylkill River waterfront was once a booming industrial hub, but by the middle of the 20thcentury, the area had fallen into neglect. To help the area regain its former luster, the Schuylkill River Development Corporation (SRDC) raised funds over the course of several decades, ultimately seeking to significantly enhance the built environment and a thriving off-road pedestrian and cycling route for the local community. Along with the City of Philadelphia and federal, state, and private partners, SRDC invested more than $110 million in the effort, leading to significant improvements. Completed in May 2025, the Christian to Crescent Cable-Stayed Bridge builds on the success of previous work, finishing the trail on the east side of Schuylkill. The Fort Miller Co. Inc., in partnership with AECOM and the City of Philadelphia, used precast concrete products in the construction of the project’s stunning 650-ft-long bridge.

A Landmark That’s Here to Cable-Stay

According to Trevor Kirkpatrick, senior bridge engineer for AECOM, alternative materials were considered for the work, but none could match up with the benefits offered by precast concrete.

“A major project goal was to provide a maintenance-free structure for the city,” he says. “Precast concrete had significant benefits over a similar steel structure from a maintenance and painting perspective. Using precast elements rather than cast-in-place simplified the overall bridge geometry control and placed beam fabrication on a parallel construction timeline, allowing for concurrent construction activities.”

Eight curved precast concrete tub girders, ranging in length from 73 to 80 ft and in weight from 116 to 148 tons, were manufactured for the project. The bridge’s twin towers, which rise 139 ft above the deck, each anchor 28 wire-rope cables that support the curved, spliced, precast concrete post-tensioned U beams and a 25-ft-wide bridge deck. Circular overlooks at each tower offer sweeping views of the river and Philadelphia skyline. The cables are arranged in a unique basketweave pattern and use elegant pin-and-clevis anchors for a streamlined appearance. The precast concrete U beams chosen for the work also provide the torsional rigidity required to accommodate the bridge’s centerline cable arrangement. According to the project team, the Christian to Crescent Cable-Stayed Bridge features the only curved, spliced precast concrete post-tensioned U beams in a single-box configuration with cable-stayed support.

This unique structural system accomplishes the community’s goal of spanning historic industrial landmarks while completing a long-awaited connection to adjacent trails. Previous sections of the trail are well-loved and much used by area residents, with more than 33,000 trips logged per week. The bridge’s aesthetically pleasing design—combined with the low maintenance requirements and extended service life of precast concrete—ensures that residents will be able to enjoy this critical link for decades to come.

“The Christian to Crescent Cable-Stayed Bridge creates a vital new connection for cyclists and pedestrians, reshaping how people move through Philadelphia,” says Joel Cummings, associate vice president and project manager for AECOM. “It provides an entirely off-road route for pedestrians and cyclists between Center City Philadelphia and the Grays Ferry neighborhood, which was historically cutoff from waterfront and trail access. The project provides a missing link across neighborhoods, eliminating what had been an almost 15-year-old gap in the trail.”

Mason Nichols is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based writer and editor who has covered the precast concrete industry since 2013.

Key Project Attributes

• Precast deck panels and approach girders allowed for rapid installation, minimizing time over the river and active rail lines.
• Prefabricated elements simplified logistics and minimized disruption in a congested metropolitan work zone.
• Closes a major gap in Philadelphia’s multi-use trail network, linking Christian Street to Greys Ferry Crescent.
• Construction over the Schuylkill River and active rail lines required precise engineering and accelerated installation.

• 650-ft-long cable-stayed bridge serves as a missing link across neighborhoods, helping to revitalize a former industrial hub.
• The bridge spans historic landmarks in the area and provides key connections to adjacent trails in the vicinity.
• Circular overlooks located at the bridge’s twin towers offer sweeping views of the Schuylkill River and Philadelphia skyline.

Project/Precast Scope

• Cable-stayed main span, directly integrated with precast concrete approaches which utilize custom curved U girders, bulb tees, and precast deck slabs.

• Precast approach components enabled rapid installation in constrained urban conditions while reducing community and environmental impacts.
• Curved U girders provided structural efficiency within context of the extension along the water,
• Bulb tees and deck slabs contributed to a durable, high-performance bridge deck system.

• Eight curved precast concrete tub girders, ranging in length from 73 to 80 ft and in weight from 116 to 148 tons, were manufactured for the project.
• The bridge features the only curved, spliced precast concrete post-tensioned U beams in a single-box configuration with a cable-stayed support.
• While the overall project spanned four years, precast concrete erection took just two weeks to complete.