Jefferson City may be closer than ever to gaining access to Adrian's Island.
After a presentation to the Jefferson City Council, officials with the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce have indicated they are moving forward with plans for a bridge to Adrian's Island that would start on state property, near the Capitol.
The long-discussed Adrian's Island project resurfaced this past summer after Jefferson City resident B.J. DeLong donated $50,000 to pay for preliminary design work on a bridge to access the property.
Adrian's Island is actually a peninsula between the Capitol building and the Missouri River that developed as settling sand and riverbottom accumulated from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' rock dikes built in the 1960s to maintain a 9-foot minimum channel depth.
Since the summer donation, local engineering company Bartlett & West has been doing the preliminary design work on multiple bridge options to the property.
Bridge options
Bob Gilbert, with Bartlett & West, presented four bridge options considered for gaining access to Adrian's Island.
The first option was a trail starting near the House of Representatives garage. While it achieved a goal of being near the Capitol, Gilbert said it turned out to be quite an expensive option because of the length it had to skew along the railroad and out of the floodway. Its estimated price tag was $3.59 million, making it the most expensive of the four options.
The second option, which is also the preferred option and the one that will be moving forward, is the Veteran's Memorial option. The trail would begin between the Senate garage and the Veteran's Memorial, achieving the goal of being near the Capitol but at a lower cost than the previous option. It's price tag is $2.99 million. (The trail would be a 10-foot wide concrete path and abide by all requirements laid out in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.)
"Having a takeoff point near the Capitol is really central to our community and to the people who either visit here or work here," Gilbert said.
The third option was a trail off the Madison Street overlook. While the cheapest of the four at $2.9 million, its placement was a bit farther off from the Capitol than desired.
And the final option was off the Lafayette Street cul-de-sac. Gilbert said that option had a substantial grade difference between the cul-de-sac itself and Adrian's Island, which made it an expensive option at $3.25 million.
Partnering agencies
To move forward with a bridge to Adrian's Island that starts near the Capitol, approval from the state, as well as Union Pacific, is needed.
But some of that work has already been done. Gilbert said Monday that the state had already approved the project on their property, and Ryan Burns, spokesperson for the Missouri Office of Administration, confirmed that approval.
Gilbert also had noted the group had begun working with Union Pacific on the needed approval to go over their tracks, indicating they were in favor of the bridge option. (The latest effort several years ago to gain access to Adrian's Island involved a tunnel under the tracks.) He also said they were working on getting the needed permits from Union Pacific.
Calli Hite, Union Pacific spokesperson, said they are aware of the interest in building a bridge over the railroad tracks, but have not yet seen any proposed design plans.
"As part of our normal process, the design plans would be reviewed by Union Pacific's Operating and Real Estate teams to assess safety and feasibility," Hite said.
There's also the issue of approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Gilbert said they are not anticipating doing any work that would impact the waterway itself, which shouldn't trigger the need for a permit. However, he noted, any access for barges or other vessels that may need to land on the property to bring construction material would need to be approved by the Corps and they have begun speaking to the Corps about that.
Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not respond to a request for comment by Thursday.
Funding
With the nearly $3 million price tag, many likely are concerned about from where that money will come. Aside from funds already set aside for Adrian's Island, Gilbert indicated no further public funds would be sought. Gilbert said they are working on securing more private donations to the project to get to the full $2.99 million needed, noting they are roughly $1 million away from the goal right now.
"If we're able to secure the funds as we're hoping, this thing could be under construction by next fall," Gilbert said. "It's close."
Jefferson City already has about $473,000 in sales tax funds dedicated to a "riverfront park." The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department has about $226,000 in riverfront-related trail money. And there is the Deborah Cooper Foundation for Riverfront Development, which was formed in the 1980s and has about $140,000 in it.
Those funds combined would be able to cover roughly $840,000 of the cost. Then there's the rest of DeLong's contribution.
DeLong has made clear the $50,000 she already donated is not all she has available for the project. She has declined to specify the amount but has said she believes between money she has set aside for Adrian's Island and interest she has received from other possible benefactors, along with the funds already identified, the cost for access could be covered.
And once the bridge is built, the property would only be developed passively, meaning the area largely would be trails and a park-like setting. Parks Director Bill Lockwood has said he believes Adrian's Island could be developed and maintained almost entirely on volunteer labor, after the access is created.
What do you think of the latest plan for Adrian's Island? If no further public money is used, does it affect your opinion of the project? Let us know what you think by commenting below, on the News Tribune Facebook page, by using the hashtag #AdriansIsland or by contacting reporter Madeleine Leroux at [email protected].