Group gets design help with ‘Sleeping Giant’ linking Cedar River Trail to greater network

CEDAR RAPIDS - A national firm is providing a pro-bono assist with the design of a 650-foot pedestrian and bike span over the Cedar River that would use piers from the old Rock Island Railroad bridge that was destroyed in the 2008 flood.

The so-called 'Sleeping Giant” would link the Cedar River Trail near Mount Trashmore to the south edge of the New Bohemia entertainment district, where it would be incorporated into redevelopment.

'The design will be determined by what can be an attractive passage, iconic for the neighborhood, and draw attention to all that is going on in the efforts of flood recovery in that area,” said Steve Sovern, a lawyer and mediator who is leading the project for the Southside Investment Board, a group organized to revitalize Cedar Rapids post-flood.

Architects with HNTB of Kansas City, Mo., and Iowa-based Shive-Hattery met with about 25 developers, trail advocates and neighborhood leaders this week to hone the design. An early concept suggested two interweaving bridges - one for bikes and a second for pedestrians - but the new thinking is for a single bridge with an artistic flair.

The hope is it can become a destination similar to the High Trestle Bridge in Madrid, Boone County.

The bridge would offer a second access to get across the Cedar River, along with the nearby 16th Avenue Bridge, in what could be a recreational loop between NewBo and Czech Village areas, he said.

'We have a real opportunity to create a focal point of the city and a place people want to visit and show off,” Steve Shriver, chief executive officer of Eco Lips, owner of Brewhemia, and New Bohemia Group president, said in an email. 'Not only will the bridge be a functional addition to the trail system for cyclists and runners to get from point A to point B, it also will create a nice pedestrian loop for family's and walkers.”

On the NewBo side, the trail would follow from the bridge to an existing railroad bed to where a new roundabout is planned, in front of St. Wenceslaus Church as part of the 16th Avenue extension project. That's slated for this summer.

The bridge and trail also would need to jibe with flood-protection efforts, including berms, planned for that area.

HNTB and Shive-Hattery will compile the feedback from this week and provide design suggestions. Southside Investment hopes to select a design, get a cost estimate - likely to be $3 million to $5 million - and present it to members of Cedar Rapids City Council on the development committee in a few weeks, Sovern said.

'The plan is wonderful,” said Cedar Rapids City Council member Ann Poe, who heads the development committee. 'We embrace it, but we have to take a look at the livability.”

She noted the project would add another trail connection and 'fun factor” for existing residents and those considering moving to the city, particularly millennials.

Lynette Richards, president of the Oak Hill Jackson Neighborhood Association, which includes the NewBo area, said the bridge would help with access and recreational opportunities for the area.

'The project has a dual roll of extending the existing bike trail from Iowa City to Cedar Falls, but it also offers a lot of opportunities for neighbors in that area,” Richards said. 'We have a wide income range and a wide interest range, and it is something that can bring the Oak Hill Jackson Neighborhood together with the new and the old.”

The Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization lists the project as No. 15 out of 36 on its priority list, but with private funding it could very get MPO help sooner, said Brandon Whyte, a multimodal planner for the organization.

The concept gained attention last spring, and since then Sovern said he's been working to gain support. Southside Investment has developed a working relationship with Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, which was instrumental in completing the High Trestle Bridge, Sovern said.

The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Co., which owns the piers, has offered to donate its property to the city, which could help with securing grants, Sovern said. City staff are working on steps that will be required for a transfer, he added.

Once a design is selected, Sovern said the fundraising and grant application process will begin, with a construction target for 2017.

'The city doesn't have money for it, so it will have to be a separate fundraising effort,” Sovern said.