A landscape architect told the Sioux City Council Monday that an estimated $15 to $20 million would need to be budgeted in order to move forward witha pedestrian bridge connecting Sioux City's riverfront with South Sioux City.
The bridge has been floated as a potential iconic feature for the Chris Larsen Park Riverfront development project. Whatever the iconic feature ends up being, a private fundraising campaign would have to pay for it.
During a presentation about the project, Tom Rogers, of SmithGroup JJR, said the bridge would need to be roughly 1,500 feet in length and 52 feet above the average elevation of the water. He showed the council several examples of pedestrian bridges, including the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in Omaha, which was completed in 2006 at a cost of $22 million, $19 million of which was funded by grants, and the 2,500-foot-long High Trestle Trail Bridge in Madrid, Iowa, which was completed in 2010 at a cost of $15 million. Eighty percent of the High Trestle Trail Bridge was funded through public grants.