Snøhetta and sbp complete bridge across New York gorge supported only from one side

Snøhetta and schlaich bergermann partner have completed a new pedestrian bridge at Watkins Glen State Park in New York. As we reported in 2024, the Sentry Bridge replaces a century-old crossing at the entrance to the park’s Gorge Trail.

The bridge was designed by the New York studios of Snøhetta and sbp as part of improvements to a trail used by more than one million visitors annually. The project replaces the original Sentry Bridge following inspections that identified structural deterioration associated with erosion and unstable rock conditions. 

The design team responded to the constraints with a 46-foot-long stainless steel structure that cantilevers across the gorge and is supported entirely from its northern side, where stronger bedrock provides suitable structural support. A half-arch configuration recedes behind the rock face on the southern side of the gorge, ...