A 100-ft-long steel truss structure was recently lifted into place as an elevated deck and viewing platform central to the Hunter’s Point South redevelopment project in New York City. One of the most ambitious waterfront projects in the city’s history, engineering and consulting firm Arup is working with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to transform the former industrial site into a sustainable and vibrant urban neighborhood, complete with riverfront park, along the East River waterfront in Long Island City, Queens.
The centerpiece of the park project — for which Arup is the structural lead — is a cantilevering steel viewing platform overlooking the river, with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline. This elevated deck is a 51-ton steel truss structure with a 50-foot cantilever, consisting of two side trusses laced together at the top and bottom. Each side truss was designed as three planar trusses that could be shipped individually and assembled on site to create the curved plan of the overlook.
Clad with 36 tons of architecturally exposed structural steel (AESS) cladding panels and handrails, the structure is 7.5 ft at its deepest, tapering to 6 in. at its 36-ft-wide edge. Fabricated by Newport Industrial Fabrication, Inc. (an AISC member and certified fabricator), the steel was delivered to the Hunter’s Point South site in November.