It's about to get much easier to walk from the Fairmont Austin (which some—OK, we—have called the city's next big project) to the Austin Convention Center. A 33-foot elevated bridge called the Red River Street Canopy Walk will connect the second floors of the hotel and convention center, and be accessible from Waller Creek Trail.
Construction will start early next year with completion by May 2017. The open-air and winding features were conceptualized by the Fairmont's developer, Manchester Texas Financial Group, and the Waller Creek Conservancy.
New York-based Thomas Phifer and Partners designed the bridge in partnership with Michael Van Valkenburgh & Associates. Austin-based dwg. is landscape architect, and Big Red Dog is civil engineer.
The public can access the bridge from Waller Creek Trail via a ramp or stairs at the northeast corner of Cesar Chavez and Red River streets.
The $370M, 1,048-room Fairmont Austin will deliver summer 2017 and hopes to generate upwards of $20M in state and local taxes annually.
