CARY CITIZENS TO COMMENT ON artist’s proposal for U.S. 1/64 PEDESTRIAN bridge

CARY, NC – To facilitate public involvement in the U.S. 1/64 Pedestrian Greenway Bridge Public Art project, Cary citizens are invited to be the first to see and comment on the public art proposal for the bridge on Tuesday, April 10 at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center, 119 Ambassador Loop.  Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the selected artist for the project –Michael Stutz of Fallbrook, Calif. – will hear input from local citizens and neighbors of the bridge about the draft proposal before he begins refining his design.

As part of his visit to Cary, Stutz will make his first site visit to the newly installed bridge and meet with DOT engineers and Town of Cary staff to discuss his proposal.  After the final design is approved, he will begin fabrication and installation of artwork on the bridge, which should take about nine months. 

“We encourage all of our citizens to join us for an opportunity to comment on the look of the bridge that will welcome Cary citizens for years to come,” said Town Public Art Coordinator Denise Dickens.

The Town of Cary’s Public Art Advisory Board and a Citizen Advisory Artist Selection Panel selected the proposal for public art by Stutz from five finalists that presented concept designs for the application of public art on a pedestrian greenway bridge.  The Cary Town Council approved the hiring of Michael Stutz in September 2006 for an artist’s commission of $165,000.

The public art is part of the Town of Cary’s Public Art Master Plan, which provides long-term guidelines and recommendations for integrating and placing public art throughout the Town.  The specific goals for the project, as considered by the Public Art Advisory Board and adopted by Town Council includes:  serve as a welcoming landmark and create a memorable sense of place; relate to vehicular and pedestrian traffic; contribute to the visual character and texture of the community, select the highest quality art work in the most suitable style, scale, and materials, and involve the community in the creative process.

The first of its kind in Cary, the 12-feet-wide and 315-feet-long bridge will serve as a welcoming, aesthetic feature for motorists entering Cary. The bridge is just one part of the N.C. Department of Transportation and Town of Cary’s joint $58-million U.S. 1/64 widening project to improve U.S. 1/64 from south of the I-40 interchange to the U.S. 64/Tryon Road interchange in Cary.  NCDOT completed the bridge design, and the Town of Cary acquired the right-of-way.  The two agencies split the estimated total cost for construction of the bridge – nearly $1.5 million.  

For more, visit U.S. 1/64 Greenway Bridge at www.townofcary.org.

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