An ad hoc committee has secured enough private donations to fund a bridge that will provide riverfront access in Jefferson City.
The committee raised $3.7 million in private funds for the proposed 826-foot bridge leading down to a riverfront park on Adrian's Island, Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin and ad hoc committee member Jim Crabtree told the News Tribune on Thursday. The estimated cost for the project is $4 million.
Adrian's Island contains 30 acres of forest and wetlands that lie between the Missouri River and Union Pacific Railroad tracks that stretch about 1 mile from the Missouri State Capitol to the former Missouri State Penitentiary.
With more than 92 percent of the funds raised, the city plans to move forward on the project, Tergin said.
The Jefferson City Council will vote on a resolution Monday to accept a $3.2 million gift from B.J. DeLong to the Parks Foundation. This amount includes $1 million DeLong pledged to the city a couple of years ago, with the stipulation that the money be used for riverfront access.
The committee has also received donations from other private entities and anticipates more donations in the coming months, Crabtree said.
"This is the best news I could ever share, and it's going to be such an amazing gift to our community," Tergin said. "It will be here for generations to come. It's something we've really longed for for generations, and thanks to the generosity of the Delong family and the other donors in our community that made this happen, we're able to share it."
The committee plans to continue reaching out to donors for donations.
Jefferson City voters approved setting aside $438,000 in previous sales tax revenue for the bicentennial bridge, Crabtree said. When the ad hoc committee contacted potential donors earlier this year though, he said, some donors were concerned about using public funds to construct the bridge.
The committee decided to use only private funds for the project, Crabtree said. According to a city press release sent to the City Council on Thursday, committee members hope the $438,000 will go toward maintenance of the bridge instead.
As part of DeLong's gift agreement, the city has until August 2019 to select a contractor to construct the bridge, with construction lasting about a year, Tergin said.
"That means by the end of 2020, it will be completed," Tergin said. "We've been anticipating this and put it out as the bicentennial bridge, knowing this dream would happen and now it's going to be a reality."
Former Gov. Eric Greitens signed a bill earlier this summer that donated 0.19 acres between the Senate garage and Veterans Memorial to Jefferson City for construction of the bridge - which would contain overlooks for visitors and four railcar replicas that would contain walking museums.
The bridge would be ADA-accessible and allow emergency vehicles to drive on it, Bob Gilbert, project managing engineer with Bartlett & West, previously said.
About 13 acres of Adrian's Island would be above the flood elevation Bartlett & West used, Gilbert said previously, and those 13 acres are where the bridge and most of the park would be located. The island has flooded five times since 2000, he added.
The park would contain passive recreation options, Crabtree said, adding the Parks department would be in charge of designing the new park.