Jefferson City's Bicentennial Bridge project will receive $500,000 from the state of Missouri under budget bills recently signed by Gov. Mike Parson.
The project's funding strikes a delicate balance of private donations and taxpayer money, with the former originally expected to cover the costs of constructing the commemorative landmark.
The Bicentennial Bridge project carries a total price of around $4.8 million.
In May, after a six-figure donation from Union Pacific Railroad, donations were still $500,000 short, the Missouri Times reported at the time.
That gap seems to be filled by Section 19.360 of House Bill 19, which appropriates the funding to the Office of Administration from the budget stabilization fund. The bridge didn't appear in the original version of the budget bill created by the House of Representatives but is in a Senate substitute, which was eventually signed.
There was no request for funding made by Jefferson City, Mayor Carrie Tergin said, meaning legislators independently identified a need.
"I think that they likely knew enough about the project, and as it was becoming a reality, they saw the value in becoming part of it," Tergin said.
The state appropriation gets the project to the amount needed for the bridge, Tergin said.
"We'll continue fundraising for extra amenities, such as additional artwork panels that can be added on the bridge," she said.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Parson's office said bridge project funding wasn't in the governor's budget recommendation, but he did not veto the appropriation, citing the bridge as "an attraction for those that visit the Capitol."
In 2018, some potential donors had expressed concern over public money going toward the project, so an ad hoc committee opted to use only private donations for construction, the News Tribune previously reported.
At that time, voters had previously approved $438,000 in sales tax revenue to go toward bridge construction, but the committee's decision meant that money would be used for bridge maintenance instead. Tergin confirmed the city will be responsible for maintaining the bridge and the future riverfront park.
That means there's a mixture of funding sources for the collective project and its maintenance, Tergin said.
"This is really multiple partnerships that are building this," she said. "When it comes to building the bridge, maintaining the bridge, and then the island itself, all of that is quite a partnership between the city and donors and some of the public funds, and now the state partnership as well."
Tergin also said there had been sales tax funds reflective of community interest from back in the 1980s for riverfront access.
"That money was already set aside," she said. "So to kind of supplement that money, we went to private donors because we knew we already had that taxpayer money. Rather than asking for more from that (taxpayer money) aspect, we chose the path of working through donors and fundraising."
The News Tribune reported in June 2020 needs for additional funding would be filled by Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department funds that have been allocated for the development of the riverfront. An amendment to a cooperative agreement between the city, bridge and parks foundation also allowed other maintenance and development funds to cover needs, so long as fundraising replenished them.
The pedestrian bridge will extend from the state Capitol complex - between the Senate garage and Veterans Memorial - to a riverfront park on Adrian's Island, extending about 800 feet.
Resident B.J. DeLong, who pushed for the project for decades, is the project's largest donor and has given $3.2 million to the project. DeLong died Sunday at age 97.
A dedication for the Bicentennial Bridge will be held Aug. 9, Tergin said, with it fully opening later in the fall.