Bridge Will Give Japanese Garden New Look New Wood-Clad Steel Span Intended To Reduce Clutter

A new ceremonial bridge will be hoisted into place Monday at the Nishinomiya Japanese Garden at Manito Park.

The new bridge, clad in a long-lasting tropical wood, will replace three aging bridges that previously carried strollers through the garden.

Mike Stone, a division manager for the parks department, said the bridge will enhance the natural setting of the garden by reducing the clutter of the old bridges.

Ramminger Construction, the general contractor, plans to use a crane to lift the 4-ton bridge from a trailer and swing it onto its foundation in the garden.

The 24-foot arched bridge was built in Spokane at Sunrise Wood Products Inc. The design includes a steel inner frame covered with purpleheart wood. The wood is fastened on the underside so no steel or hardware is exposed.

Purpleheart is a fairly common tropical wood grown on managed plantations. It withstands weather well and is sometimes used for docks.

At first, the bridge will have a brilliant purple color, but the wood will fade to brown and then to gray over the years.

“This wood material is extraordinarily beautiful,” Stone said. “It will be quite a different look.”

Spokane park officials hired the expert help of Masa Mizuno, a Japanese garden consultant from Portland, in designing the bridge.

The structure will span the entire pond, eliminating the need for bridge bulkheads that previously rested on the pond’s liner, Stone said.

While the old bridges overpowered the landscape design, the new bridge will complement the environment better, he said.

A Japanese garden is supposed to appear as nature in its pristine state but reduced in size through the skill and vision of the gardener, who seeks balance between the intimate and the grand.

Work on the project began last fall when parts of the fish pond were drained. Sandbags were used to contain the water in just a portion of the pond so the koi fish could be kept alive without being moved.

The project is being financed through grants from the Spokane Parks and Recreation Foundation, $40,000; Friends of Manito, $15,000; and Associated Garden Clubs, $10,000.

The city Parks Department is contributing the remaining $15,000 from taxpayer funds.

The total is $80,000.

, DataTimes