The breathtaking land bridge at San Antonio’s Phil Hardberger Park is in the national spotlight. The ambitious public works project, officially known as the Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge, has received a prestigious ASLA Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects — well-earned recognition for the largest wildlife crossing in the United States.
The landmark honor affirms the project’s vision of seamlessly integrating urban infrastructure with natural systems, according to a news release from the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy. The award will be presented to the land bridge’s architects, Stimson Studio, at the annual ASLA conference in October.
“A great case study in possibilities,” wrote the ASLA 2025 jury. “This project makes an incredibly difficult task of building a functional landscape on structure; creating a welcoming space over a highway; balancing the needs of humans and non-humans alike; and connecting ecological fragments look easy.”
The bridge welcomes thousands of visitors each year.Photo by Airborne photography/ Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy
Park officials debuted the land bridge in December 2020, introducing the city to the groundbreaking approach to urban connectivity. The crossing links two previously divided halves of the 330-acre Phil Hardberger Park, allowing pedestrians and wildlife easy passage between two sides of the park.
The bridge, the first of its kind in the nation, also acts as a “learning landscape.” Thousands of visitors — ranging from professionals to grade school children — walk the grounds each year to explore conservation, landscape innovation, and view ecologically inspired artwork.
“We set out to create something more than infrastructure: an extension of the land, a new home for native species, and a place for people to reconnect,” said principal architect Stephen Stimson, in the release.
A walkway hovers near the tree line.Photo courtesy of Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy
The Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy says the ASLA recognition will not only raise its global profile but also enhance its opportunities for future pioneering projects and partnerships. And it provides a template for other cities looking to blend nature and urban infrastructure.
“This Honor Award is a tribute to the power of persistence, vision, and collaboration of the community of San Antonio and visionary designers,” said Melissa Kazen, the conservancy’s executive director, in a statement. “The land bridge is more than beautifully designed infrastructure—it’s a bridge that actively connects our community to nature through successful urban ecology.”
