A direct walking and bike path that connects the Storrs Street or even the Main Street with the paths on the east bank of the Merrimack River. A deck over the river bank with space for picnic, benches and food trucks. A Latvian, wavy wooden architecture that creates a “gateway to the mountains” that bent over the highway.
Engineers debut designs and cost estimates for the appearance of a look in the city center of Bridge Park look, the highlight of a feasibility study commissioned by the city in 2023. They included bridges that belonged either from the north of the Storrs Street or from the south, with or from the northern part of the Storrs. Without a deck area with a view of the river. A bridge alone would have an approximately estimated price of between 60 and 75 million US dollars, and one that included an open cover room was classified at around $ 90 million to $ 115 million.
But do not expect it to happen soon.
In the near future, the city does not want to spend tax money on this project, said Beth Wenertacher, director of special projects and strategic initiatives. The designs and knowledge of this study could progress with great money outside of money or be taken up at a later date.
“The city will not be put in CIP tomorrow, and we are not in a really good environment to get huge, huge federal grants,” said Greg Bakos, an engineer behind the study. “But it is still something that could be saved and examined again for the future.”
The idea for a pedestrian bridge that connects the city center and the river has been presented by the city for at least the nineties. With the interpretation project of the state in the horizon and the hope of Concord for a revived Storrs Street, the city financed a study for architects and engineers to see whether such a project would be feasible at all, what it could look like and what it could cost.
With the public input, the engineers limited their study to three potential concepts: a bridge, a bridge with a top park or a big-fig style to divide the highway near the exit 14 to create open green space. According to Bakos, the latter was a “non -starter” for the Ministry of Transport.
Each of the other two options would extend across the river and connect to the Merrimack River Greenway Trail on the eastern bank of the river and touch the city center somewhere along the Storrs Street. Two locations were in the eyes for both: a further north, which curved behind the Bank of America and another south, with his office building of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission on ramps behind the New Hampshire Liquor Commission.
The residents of a presentation on Tuesday offered advantages and disadvantages to every place: the northern spot is closer to the heart of the city center and even offers a way that it can be extended so that it can meet the main street as the current parking garage of the Storrs Street. The southern spot is still located from the Loudon Road Bridge and has a gradual slope upwards, which makes it a little more accessible.
A bridge at the northern location would be a little shorter – 0.4 miles in the total length and 400 feet river crossing compared to a total of 0.6 miles and 430 feet above the river at the southern location – which could make about 20% cheaper, said Bakos, Bakos after the meeting.
Aesthetically, the study suggested that the vertical wooden slats with clear barriers along the bridge enabled a design that was interesting for the eye, but relatively easy in the structure.
The deck would be a little less than half a square mile or about as large as the Eagle Square, and hang over the river instead of extending the highway, Bakos said. If you put it across the river, it will make it quieter – motorway noise is a wide concern for this project – and offers a better view of water and city.
If the pedestrian path were ever implemented, it offers a look at the river, a path, the run and bicycle connectivity to a growing local trail network, a foot traffic connection via the river, in which the interstates on and outside of ramps or occupied Loudon is not crossed street and could be a tourism tension.
In a completely separate project, the city plans to rehabilitate the Loudon Road Bridge next year. This endeavor, which has financed more than half of federal dollars, adds a 14-foot route for foot and bicycle traffic.
The results of this study will be presented to the city council in a future meeting.
Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com. You can subscribe to your Concord Newsletter The City Beat at Concordmonitor.com.