Design for New Haymarket Pedestrian Bridge Unveiled

By: Associated Press

Updated: Thu 2:21 PM, Oct 11, 2012

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Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler announced the City will soon take bids on the 611-foot pedestrian bridge that will link the Pinnacle Bank Arena with the new festival space northwest of the facility.

Beutler unveiled the conceptual drawings of the bridge Wednesday. The structure was designed by Dimensional Innovations, an Overland Park, Kansas firm selected by the West Haymarket Joint Public Agency (JPA).

The design incorporates the letters L-I-N-C-O-L-N which are visible from both sides of the bridge and from above.

“You can imagine what the bridge will look like from a blimp that may be flying overhead during a Husker football game,” said Beutler, who chairs the JPA. “This bridge will serve as an iconic location within our City. It also will be a bridge that creates specific areas where some of Lincoln’s unique stories can be told – a generational bridge. As you walk along the bridge you will want to stop by each letter and take a moment to read about some of the rich stories that define Lincoln.” The City’s historic preservation planner, Ed Zimmer, will assist with the text that will displayed on the bridge.

The bridge will be bid in two packages, first the structure itself and then the aesthetic elements. The JPA is scheduled to select the final contractors at its December meeting. Construction on the structure will begin next spring and is expected to be completed next summer. The aesthetic elements would then be added, with completion expected by September 2013. The bridge project is included in the current JPA budget.