State grant to support new pedestrian bridge in Hiawatha

HIAWATHA — Thanks to a nearly $800,000 in state grant funding, the city of Hiawatha is able to move forward with a longtime “wish list” item to improve trail connectivity within the city.

The Hiawatha City Council earlier this month approved a professional services agreement to move forward with preliminary plans for a trail bridge at Emmons Street where it intersects with Interstate 380.

The roughly $1.6 million project would be supported in part by a $792,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation allocated this summer through the state’s Transportation Alternative Set Aside (TASA) program.

Conversations about this project “go back more than 10 years. It’s been on the wish list for a while, but due to funding it never really rose to the top,” Hiawatha City Manager Dennis Marks told The Gazette. “The $792,000 from the state is really the (spark) to get this going.”

City Engineer Jon Fitch said staff are in the early planning phases for the project, and city council members recently approved an agreement with architectural firm Shive-Hattery to look into preliminary designs, overall project scope and schedule.

The goal of the project is to improve trail connectivity within Hiawatha, particularly between the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and Guthridge Park. It’s possible that could mean adding a pedestrian path to the existing overpass or the construction of a stand-alone trail bridge.

“We don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like right now,” Fitch said. “We’ll probably look to have some decorative railings … like we’ve been doing on all of our bridges in Hiawatha. But as far as the overall look, we don’t really have that because we just approved the contract” with Shive-Hattery.

Early estimates place project completion at two to three years out with the project being included in the city’s capital improvement budget for fiscal year 2027.

Prior to construction, final plans will come before the City Council for review and approval. City staff in the meantime continue to look into the potential for additional grant funds to support the project.

Similar projects have gained popularity in the broader region, including the ongoing construction of the $14.9 million Alliant Energy LightLine Loop pedestrian bridge in Cedar Rapids and the recently completed Seventh Avenue pedestrian bridge in Marion.

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