The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge is a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. It opened on September 28, 2008. Interest in a landmark bridge across the Missouri River arose after Omaha and Council Bluffs began replacing their older crossings with girder bridges which do not have towers (most notably the

Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge The Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge was a Whipple through truss bridge that was the first road bridge to cross the Missouri River connecting Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was replaced in 1966 by the Interstate 480 (Nebraska-Iowa), Interstate 480 ...

). The bridge is named after former Nebraska Senator

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...

, who secured $18 million of federal funding for the bridge in 2000. The bridge was redesigned in 2004 after the lowest bid for the project was $44 million. In May 2006, a final

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

design by Kansas City engineering and architectural firm HNTB was selected for the bridge. The $22 million bid included two towers and a clearance of above the river. Groundbreaking for construction of the bridge occurred on October 26, 2006. The bridge is north of the Interstate 480 (I-480) girder bridge and connects the

Port of Omaha The Port of Omaha is a port of entry in the United States with facilities on the west side of the Missouri River in Omaha, Nebraska. The official address is located at 5229 Boeing Court in East Omaha. The Port was formally sanctioned by the U ...

's Miller Landing to One Renaissance Center in the former

Dodge Park Playland Dodge Park Playland was an amusement park formerly located at Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States. It was in operation from 1948 to 1970. In its heyday as an amusement park, through the 1960's, it spanned the street in Council Bluffs that began ...

in Council Bluffs. The lights on the bridge were donated by Gallup, which has their corporate headquarters and Gallup University located on the Missouri River adjacent the Omaha landing of the bridge. The bridge lights include programmable controls that can display multiple colors in the large lights at the top of the towers and alter brightness and timing of the lights that run the entire length of the bridge. The lights were officially unveiled in a ceremony on September 13, 2008. The bridge lights were turned on while the Phil Collins song "''In The Air Tonight''" was played over a

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

. The event was accompanied by fireworks. Due to safety concerns prompted by the

2011 Missouri River floods The 2011 Missouri River floods was a flooding event on the Missouri River in the United States.The flooding was triggered by record snowfall in Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming along with near-record spring rainfall in central and easter ...

, the entrance on the Iowa side was closed on July 2 of that year. It reopened September 3, 2011. In 2015, the bridge joined Twitter as @BobTBridge, an effort by the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau. File:Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.jpg, Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge at sunset File:Bobkerrypedbridge.jpg, Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in spring

References

External links

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Video walking tour of bridge
{{OmahaBridges Bridges in Omaha, Nebraska Pedestrian bridges in Iowa Buildings and structures in Council Bluffs, Iowa Cyclist bridges in the United States Tourist attractions in Omaha, Nebraska Bridges over the Missouri River Bridges completed in 2008 Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Bridges in Pottawattamie County, Iowa Pedestrian bridges in Nebraska Girder bridges in the United States 2008 establishments in Iowa 2008 establishments in Nebraska

See also

References

External links