Monterey County, California Bridge: Mazda Raceway Pedestrian Overcrossing

July 2016 (36.5859, -121.7495) Mazda Raceway POC

A modern timber bowstring truss carries pedestrians over the Mazda Raceway in the Laguna Seca Recreation Area. This interesting structure is almost hidden behind all the advertisements on display.

The top and bottom chords of the bridge are glulam members secured to the diagonal truss members with metal plates and bolts (shown below). The walkway is housed within a plywood structure built on the inside of the truss. 

Pedestrian overcrossings built over freeways usually have a fencing on the inside to prevent people from throwing things onto the cars below. Maybe the plywood serves a similar purpose?

A few bracing members on the inside completes the job of securing the structure's shape.

Google Earth provides an excellent view of the racecourse in 3D with our bowstring truss bridge in the foreground (the raceway looks more painterly than photographic!). We had to pay $8 to gain admission to the park so we could photograph the bridge.

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