The money, according to Steve Scarpello, acting parks and recreation director, is intended to offset the costs associated with putting together a proposal. The stipends will only go to companies who submit a ‘qualified bid’. The team that is ultimately chosen for the project will not receive a stipend.

This is a standard procedure for the design/build process. The money will come from federal funding already secured for the project. An engineering services firm will be hired to analyze the bridge proposals and will have input as to what firm is hired.

Proposals are to be submitted by the end of the month and if all goes well, construction could start as early as this summer.

lans to build a pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River between Nebraska and Iowa has caused much controversy over the past few years. In 2000, former Senator Bob Kerrey obtained $19 million in federal funding to start the project. At that time, both Nebraska and Iowa agreed to add an additional $1.5 million each and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District added another $1 million to the pot. 

The entire project was to cost no more than $23 million but when bids were received in 2004, the lowest was $22 million over budget, doubling the expected cost.

FIGG Engineering Company of Tallahassee, FL. was hired by the Fahey administration to design

	Artist conceptual drawing of the Pedestrian Bridge designed by Figg Engineering.

a bridge that would be a focal point for the riverfront. The twin-spire design they submitted included long sweeping curves and majestic twin sails.

FIGG and Omaha city officials had been trying to come up with a more scaled-back design over the past 18 months that could go back out to bid but the city feared construction costs would still out-weigh their budget. The Fahey administration has since decided to terminate its agreement with FIGG and seek out a design-build contractor without going through the normal bidding procedure.

Design-build is a system in which one contractor performs both the architecture/engineering and the actual construction. Several teams have expressed interest including Hawkins Construction Company of Omaha who would team with FIGG and HDR, acting as both designer and general contractor.

Others include Jensen Construction Co. of Des Moines, APAC-Kansas Inc. of Overland Park, KS., Flatiron Construction of Longmont, CO., Hardesty & Hanover of Annapolis, MD. and Christensen Bros. Inc. of Cherokee, IA..

Although FIGG has already been paid $3 million for the work they put into the design, not all of that money will go to waste. Any firm picked for the project will receive all of the environmental and pre-construction reports.

The chief concern for those who are advocates for building the bridge is that cost is the overriding consideration with quality second. The formal request does state, however, that this will need to be an architecturally significant landmark.

Formal requests for proposals will be out sometime this month or next. Interested companies will need to submit their proposals within four to six weeks then a committee will select the design and construction company.

Officials believe the design-build concept should allow for quicker construction with work possibly starting by next summer.