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rails to trails u winter.12 22
is expected to be completed in spring
2012.
“Te bridge is a very important com-
ponent of the Genesee Riverway Trail,
which is continuous on both sides of the
river,” says JoAnn Beck, Rochester’s senior
landscape architect. “Te bridge com-
pletes the loop, and those trail loops are
really important to capturing users with
many diferent abilities and many difer-
ent destinations.”
Beck adds that the views of the river
and downtown Rochester are reason
enough to visit the bridge, which, when
completed, will be the city’s third pedes-
trian crossing over the river.
Iowa
Painted in a caboose-red color to
capture the essence of its train traf-
fc beginnings in the 1800s, the Des
Moines Union Railway Bridge—built
by the Des Moines Union Railway
Company—cuts a striking fgure over
the Des Moines River. It also forms the
southern end of a pedestrian loop that
circles the entire city: Te Principal
Riverwalk.
Completed in 2006, the bridge
cost $4.5 million to construct and has
won numerous awards for engineering
excellence and lighting. Te restoration
work involved adding a new cantilever
at the center of the bridge to allow for
unobstructed views of the river and the
city of Des Moines.
Nebraska and Iowa
Spanning the Missouri River between
Omaha, Neb., and Council Bluffs,
Iowa, is the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian
Bridge, a 3,000-square-foot landmark
crossing that was completed in 2008.
The bridge was the first-ever pedes-
trian span between two states and was
completed after Nebraska Senator Bob
Kerrey secured nearly $20 million in
federal funding for the project.
Though not built along a former
railroad bridge, this structure stands
60 feet above the Missouri River and
affords visitors access to 150 miles of
trails on each side of the river. The
curving pathway of the bridge provides
changes in perspective and scenery all
the way across.
Tennessee
In Memphis, Greg Maxted, executive
director of the Harahan Bridge Project,
is working hard to ensure that the
Harahan Bridge sees completion.
“Memphis is taking strides in green
infrastructure,” he says. “We are catching
up with style and big steps.”
Te bridge—featured in the Fall 2011
magazine—currently services about 20
to 25 trains per day, but the roadbeds
next to it have been out of commission
since 1950. Trains will continue to use
the bridge, which is owned by Union
Pacifc Railroad, and the roadbeds will
be resurfaced to accommodate pedestri-
ans and bicyclists.
Nearly 5,000 feet long, the impres-
sive structure crosses into Arkansas from
downtown Memphis, just 400 yards
from the existing riverwalk area.
“Tis project will change the char-
Crossing the
Des Moines
River, the Des
Moines Union
Railway Bridge
is part of a
rapidly growing
rail-trail and
greenway
network
through
central Iowa.
Richard Brown/City of Des Moines
Opened in 2008, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian
Bridge connects Council Bluffs, Iowa, to
Omaha, Neb., and more than 150 miles of
trails on each side of the Missouri River,
including the Keystone Trail and the
Wabash Trace Nature Trail.
Greater Omaha Chamber of C
ommerce