New Eighth Avenue Bridge could spur other riverfront amenities

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Eighth Avenue Bridge replacement project may open the door for some intriguing options along the Cedar River, according to Cedar Rapids officials.

Staff are looking beyond just the bridge - which could have a dramatic new architectural design in its own right - to other possibilities, such as redevelopment of a sprawling parking lot across from the federal courthouse by the east bank and whether a new pump station on underutilized festival grounds on the west bank could incorporate a cafe or some other public use.

'This is not just a bridge project; this is not just a traffic project,” Rob Davis, Cedar Rapids flood control manager, said during a meeting of the Flood Control System Committee on Thursday.

Davis presented the two favored choices for the design of the new Eighth Avenue Bridge, to replace the existing 80-year-old span. The new bridge will be elevated with its footings incorporated into a flood wall. The most popular design among five included in an informal online survey is a short tower cabled suspension bridge followed by an above arch travelway style bridge, Davis reported.

An arch below travelway - the design of the existing bridge - finished third.

City staff will study the two bridge designs, along with how to manage traffic disruptions during construction, and recommend one to City Council, likely by midyear, Davis said. Bridge construction, which could clock in at $25 million, is slated for 2020 to 2022.

At the meeting, the three-person flood committee supported a request to add Substance Architecture and HDR Inc. as architectural subconsultants to Shoemaker & Haaland on the bridge project, raising the $180,000 consulting fee by $65,000.

Omaha, Neb.-based HDR, which has experience with both favored bridge types, plans to examine the designs for feasibility and cost. Substance Architecture of Des Moines is going to focus on the festival grounds and pump station, which is a housing with a deep pit and giant pumps to move subsurface water back into the river.

'There's an underutilized festival grounds area and a pump station, a relatively small one, right next to the bridge,” Davis said. 'Is there something that we ought to be doing with that while we are building pump stations or redeveloping that area?

'They could give us some renderings that would match with either type of bridge and show us what type of amenity we could have over there,” Davis said of Substance Architecture.

Substance Architecture created the design for the Principal Riverwalk Pavilion and Pump Station at Court Avenue and Water Street in downtown Des Moines, which incorporates bike trails, public art, public restrooms and a cafe. The restaurant, which was supposed to be seasonal, now stays open year-round because the concept has been so popular, Davis said.

The footprint of the Des Moines design 'fit really well with the pump station, some type of other use, and it may be an opportunity” on the festival grounds, he said. The time frame for the pump station is up in the air, but could potentially be done in conjunction with the bridge, but not before, Davis said.

Paul Mankins, partner with Substance Architecture, said the pavilion and pump station in Des Moines has become a civic asset where yoga classes are held, bikers can stop to use the public restrooms on the back side of the flood wall, and others stop for selfies or wedding pictures in front of the public art, including a mural of layered lit-up glass.

'It has become a very active civic space,” Mankins said. 'It could have been this thing you hoped people would overlook. Instead, they made it into something visually interesting and a civic success story. I give a lot of credit for their ability to see the pump station as something more than just a cinder block wall.”

As part of the bridge project, Cedar Rapids officials also are examining a new driveway that would go underground to the federal courthouse, and a bike trail option for people to get from the bridge to the festival grounds.

'I'm really glad we are looking at these things,” said Justin Shields, a member of the committee. 'It's not always today's cost, it is what does it cost you by not doing some of these things?”

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