Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge

The signature footbridge serves as a southern gateway to downtown San Diego and fulfills the City’s 100-year vision to link two of its important regional assets: Balboa Park and San Diego Bay. 

At 550 feet long and one of the longest self-anchored, suspension bridges in the world, the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge is designed to provide a safe, elevated footbridge for pedestrians and bicyclists crossing the busy Harbor Drive and existing train and trolley tracks.  

After developing and presenting four structural concepts - a steel space truss, a cable-stayed bridge, a self-anchored suspension bridge, and an arched steel shell - TYLin’s self-anchored suspension bridge design was selected for its aesthetics, cost, and suitability for the site. 

TYLin’s vision for the bridge incorporated simple, clean lines that enhance and enable unobstructed, 360-degree views of its beautiful San Diego environs. The design also considered aesthetic and cost-effective design elements that can be appreciated by the pedestrians strolling over the iconic structure.  

With a main span of 354 feet, the bridge features a 131-foot-high pylon and a curved deck suspended only along the inside edge. The pylon is inclined at a 60-degree angle and leans over the deck to support the single pair of suspension cables. A total of 34 individual suspenders, which are attached to the main cable, support the 20-foot-wide deck from the top of the railing.  

TYLin’s services included design, construction engineering and inspection, construction phase services, seismic analysis and design. 

Project Highlights: 

• TYLin’s design for the grade-separated pedestrian crossing was selected as a clear community favorite for both its visual aesthetics and its transparent profile. 
• The Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge is one of the longest bridges utilizing duplex stainless structural steel due to its proximity to San Diego Bay. 
• Aesthetic design elements include architectural concrete finishes, textured walking surfaces, stainless steel hand railings, stainless steel aircraft cable mesh for the safety screening, and indirect deck lighting 
• Other project amenities include custom hardscape and landscape at the bridge landing plazas and the central pylon area. 

Image credit: Brooke Duthie Photography