About $25 million stands between the city of St. Louis and its chosen design for a new Grand Avenue bridge between Chouteau Avenue and Interstate 64/U.S. 40.
The proposed bridge would serve as a needed connector between the two sides of Saint Louis University's expanding campus, according to Kathleen Brady, the university's vice president for facilities management and civic affairs. Brady said the existing bridge is a barrier to the school's campuses on either side of I-64/U.S. 40 because it is not pedestrian friendly.
The new four-lane, 102-foot-wide bridge, designed by local firm Zurheide-Herrmann Inc., would include sidewalks on both sides for pedestrians and bikers as well as a 14-foot-wide landscaped median. It would replace the current 80-foot-wide, six-lane bridge.
"With the pedestrian and bike lanes, we really think a lot more of our students, faculty and staff may choose to move between the campuses," Brady said. The pedestrian-friendly bridge would also make all parts of the campus accessible from the Grand MetroLink station, she said.
SLU may help the city foot a portion of the bill for the project. "The school has not made a firm commitment at this time, but we certainly know that down the road, we'll be having those discussions."
The city is currently putting together a funding package to cover the cost of the project. At an estimated $25 million, the bridge's pricetag is nearly 10 times higher than the average bridge replacement in the city. Most of the bridges the city replaces run between $2 million to $3 million, according to Board of Public Service President Marjorie Melton.
The city selected one of five concepts Zurheide-Herrmann Inc. presented for the new bridge between Gratiot Street, which is just north of Chouteau Avenue, and the east-bound exit ramp of I-64/U.S. 40.
The city will attempt to get 80 percent of the bridge's cost, or $20 million, paid for by federal funds, and $5 million paid for locally, according to Terry Hartz, planning and programming executive for the Board of Public Service of the city of St. Louis.
The current bridge, which was built in 1962, was targeted for replacement because of its age. "It needs a new deck; it's in pretty poor condition," Hartz said. "There is deterioration that really needs to be changed out. It also will undergo a seismic upgrade to bring it up to today's standards."
The city set aside $2.5 million for the design work, but requested funding for the project from the Federal Highway Administration. The project is slated to receive approximately $3 million in the transportation bill currently before Congress. Hartz said the remainder of the federal funding will come from future transportation bills, and the city will apply for federal Surface Transportation Project (STP) funding.
The proposed single-level structure will be in the same relative position as the existing bridge, said Zurheide-Herrmann President Ron Dahman. Four columns will rise above the bridge's deck with supporting cables. Dahman said the cables were included as a tribute to the original bridge built on the site in 1890 and designed by the city's bridge engineer, Carl Gayler. The roadway was suspended from an eye-bar chain supported by 55-foot steel towers. It was torn down in 1962 and replaced by the six-lane bridge that exists today.
Dahman said the new bridge will be reminiscent of Gayler's original design. "It was considered to be one of the finest bridges. I think the gentleman has been lost in the dust of history." On the new bridge, the four towers will be in the exact position as those on the original suspension bridge.
Engineering firm Modjeski and Masters Inc., headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., is working on the design with Zurheide-Herrmann, in addition to locally-based Austin Tao & Associates Inc., an urban design and landscape architecture firm, and Sabur Surveying & Engineering Inc., also based in St. Louis.
Engineers are able to use part of the existing superstructure, so the bridge will not have to be closed during construction, said Barbara Geisman, executive director for development for the city. Geisman said building a bridge that is well-designed, within a reasonable budget and that is an aesthetic improvement is a plus for the area and the city as a whole. Building the Grand Avenue bridge heralds a "new era of city public works," she said.
Preliminary designs for the bridge are expected to be completed by October, the Board of Public Service's Melton said. The plans will then be sent to the Missouri Department of Transportation for approval. Construction is expected to start in fiscal year 2008, if the city is able to get federal funding in place for the project.
Thirty business and community members met with city officials and architects during recent months to hammer out the details and come to a consensus about what the bridge should look like. Businesses in the area stand to be greatly impacted by a new bridge in the Midtown district.
The new design has four lanes of traffic with green space separating cars in opposite directions, Melton said. Cut-outs are included to provide space for buses to stop without impeding the flow of traffic. Currently, buses or private cars must block a lane of traffic to unload or pick up passengers leaving the Grand MetroLink station.
Carol Schmidt, director of capital projects for Metro, said the agency is working on a redesign of the Grand Avenue MetroLink station that will run concurrently with the bridge construction. "It's a station that is much busier now than when it was opened, and we're trying to respond to that."
Dianne Williams, director of communications for Metro, said the Grand station consistently ranks second or third for boardings among MetroLink's stations. The city agreed to pay $1.7 million for the bridge-level Metro stop at Grand, she said. Metro approved $1.8 million in its budget for new elevators at the Grand station.
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