PHOTOS: Is Casper Getting a New Bridge for Christmas Next Year?

In a Tuesday night work session, the Casper City Council discussed the project design for a 230-foot pedestrian bridge over the North Platte River along South Poplar Street.

City documents say the project will include multi-use pathway connections to the existing pathways and sidewalks in the area, lighting, upgrades to the sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and utilities in the area.

Funding for this project will come from the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Grant, in the amount of $3,500,000; the grant requires the construction for the project to be complete by December 21, 2026.

Exhibits from City documents are shown below:

City councilmember Pat Sweeney questioned about alternative designs, mentioning galvanized metal or rusted metal, and tying the design in with the rest of Casper's major structures.

The design team said they looked at six different designs, but "it boiled down to aesthetics and constructability" said architect Max Nasab with Apex Architecture, contracted by Civil Engineering Professionals Incorporated.

"If we wanted to play with materials or other elements that is still open. That is not a finished sort of idea that we have here in terms of material. There's opportunities on the railings, there's opportunities for the colors of the cables, there's opportunities for the actual color of the arch. We did white and we recommend white because if we are going to play with aesthetic lighting white is the best."

Lighting is an expensive part of this project. There will be some sort of lighting for pedestrian safety, but the magnitude is subject to budget constraints.