Sixth Street Bridge Park

The Sixth St. Park offers access to the Historic Sixth St. Bridge and Riverwalk. The bridge was constructed in 1886 and is the longest pin-connected highway truss in the State of Michigan.

As part of the revitalization of the Central Business District and riverfront, the City of Grand Rapids retained Progressive AE to develop plans to renovate the deteriorating Sixth Street Bridge Park. The design and construction challenges to this project were many. The design challenges included: The park had to have the capacity to retain a 100-year flood; The park is a former industrial site containing contaminated and hazardous soils; and primary electric overhead line running through the middle of the park. Finally, numerous buried remnants of building footings, floodwalls and bridge abutments were discovered and addressed during construction.

The initial master planning and design were developed through consensus-building with neighborhood business and park groups. Improvements included a new boat launch, a unique barrier-free boat loading ramp, a river overlook, sitting steps, a fish-cleaning station, landscaping, lighting, and a park shelter. The park also provides important non-motorized links to adjacent systems.