The city of Cedar Rapids is trying again to seek a massive grant — $56.4 million — from the federal government to reconstruct the Eighth Avenue “Arc of Justice” Bridge over the Cedar River.
A key segment of the city’s permanent flood control system, the estimated $76 million bridge project would provide a lifeline connection for residents and emergency services when Cedar River waters rise to extreme levels like during the 2008 flood.
The Cedar Rapids City Council this week signed off on the application for a Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Costsaving Transportation Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The PROTECT discretionary grant program is a new program created through the federal bipartisan infrastructure law.
Grants awarded through this program may go toward highway, transit and certain port projects that include resilience planning, strengthening and protecting evacuation routes, enabling communities to address vulnerabilities and making surface transportation infrastructure more resilient from the impacts of natural disasters.
“The newly constructed bridge will be raised in elevation to allow a critical transportation corridor in the event of another major Cedar River flood condition,” Public Works Director Bob Hammond said in a statement. “With this project completed, it would be one of three north/south transportation routes to mitigate flooding impacts: those three being (Interstate) 380, Arc of Justice Bridge and State Route 100 bridge.”
Hammond said the city's executive leadership team recognized the project’s importance for diversity, equity and inclusion and chose the “Arc of Justice” as a fitting name. City officials have said the new bridge will limit the need to evacuate areas behind the completed flood control system, improve trail access and expand connectivity across the river.
The current Eighth Avenue Bridge is shown June 22, 2016. A proposed new bridge would have a single pier in the water, instead of the current seven piers — meant to improve the hydraulic flow of the river and reduce upstream backwater water levels. (The Gazette)
So far, Hammond said the project is approximately 30 percent designed and the schedule for construction is to be determined. The entire design will not occur until there’s a more complete outlook for funding, and additional substantial grant money is secured. Flood Control Manager Rob Davis said staff continue to apply for all available state and federal funding opportunities.
According to the city’s flood control system master plan, the new bridge would be a single-pier cable stayed bridge designed for a 100-year life span. A single pier in the water, instead of the current seven piers, is intended to improve the hydraulic flow of the river and reduce upstream backwater water levels.
Possible additional design amenities include a multiuse pedestrian and bike trail connecting to both sides of the river. On the west side, the bridge would tie into a proposed festival grounds. A pump station also is proposed on the site.
Newsletter Signup
Legislative & Politics News Delivered to your inbox each weekday
The city’s grant request, if funded, would cover 80 percent of the project costs and the city must provide a local match of 20 percent, Davis said. The local match will be covered through general obligation bonds and Iowa Flood Mitigation Program funds. Plus, in April 2021, the Iowa Department of Transportation awarded $1 million to the project through its City Bridge Program.
Cedar Rapids officials have been working for years to secure federal funds to support the project, most recently through BUILD and RAISE grant applications in 2020, 2021 and 2023 as well as the Bridge Investment Program in 2022.
Though the city has not succeeded in receiving a bridge grant yet, according to council documents, previous submissions all scored in the top “Highly Recommend” category and “U.S. DOT staff has been supportive and encouraging of the continued funding applications for this project.”
The Bridge Investment Program was created through the bipartisan infrastructure law. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, voted against that bill, but Republican Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s senior senator, was among 19 Senate Republicans who joined all 50 Democrats in voting for the legislation.
Grassley has said the infrastructure investments would “pay dividends for generations to come,” while Ernst opposed adding to the federal debt. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the proposal would add $256 billion to projected deficits.
Still, Ernst in a visit to Cedar Rapids last August committed to lobbying DOT officials for the bridge project to receive funds. Top city officials earlier this summer visited with Ernst, Grassley, Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and other federal agency officials to lobby for the bridge project and discuss other items.
www.thegazette.com
A key segment of the city’s permanent flood control system, the estimated $76 million bridge project would provide a lifeline connection for residents and emergency services when Cedar River waters rise to extreme levels like during the 2008 flood.
The Cedar Rapids City Council this week signed off on the application for a Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Costsaving Transportation Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The PROTECT discretionary grant program is a new program created through the federal bipartisan infrastructure law.
Grants awarded through this program may go toward highway, transit and certain port projects that include resilience planning, strengthening and protecting evacuation routes, enabling communities to address vulnerabilities and making surface transportation infrastructure more resilient from the impacts of natural disasters.
“The newly constructed bridge will be raised in elevation to allow a critical transportation corridor in the event of another major Cedar River flood condition,” Public Works Director Bob Hammond said in a statement. “With this project completed, it would be one of three north/south transportation routes to mitigate flooding impacts: those three being (Interstate) 380, Arc of Justice Bridge and State Route 100 bridge.”
Hammond said the city's executive leadership team recognized the project’s importance for diversity, equity and inclusion and chose the “Arc of Justice” as a fitting name. City officials have said the new bridge will limit the need to evacuate areas behind the completed flood control system, improve trail access and expand connectivity across the river.
So far, Hammond said the project is approximately 30 percent designed and the schedule for construction is to be determined. The entire design will not occur until there’s a more complete outlook for funding, and additional substantial grant money is secured. Flood Control Manager Rob Davis said staff continue to apply for all available state and federal funding opportunities.
According to the city’s flood control system master plan, the new bridge would be a single-pier cable stayed bridge designed for a 100-year life span. A single pier in the water, instead of the current seven piers, is intended to improve the hydraulic flow of the river and reduce upstream backwater water levels.
Possible additional design amenities include a multiuse pedestrian and bike trail connecting to both sides of the river. On the west side, the bridge would tie into a proposed festival grounds. A pump station also is proposed on the site.
On Iowa Politics
Newsletter Signup
The city’s grant request, if funded, would cover 80 percent of the project costs and the city must provide a local match of 20 percent, Davis said. The local match will be covered through general obligation bonds and Iowa Flood Mitigation Program funds. Plus, in April 2021, the Iowa Department of Transportation awarded $1 million to the project through its City Bridge Program.
Cedar Rapids officials have been working for years to secure federal funds to support the project, most recently through BUILD and RAISE grant applications in 2020, 2021 and 2023 as well as the Bridge Investment Program in 2022.
Though the city has not succeeded in receiving a bridge grant yet, according to council documents, previous submissions all scored in the top “Highly Recommend” category and “U.S. DOT staff has been supportive and encouraging of the continued funding applications for this project.”
The Bridge Investment Program was created through the bipartisan infrastructure law. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, voted against that bill, but Republican Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s senior senator, was among 19 Senate Republicans who joined all 50 Democrats in voting for the legislation.
Grassley has said the infrastructure investments would “pay dividends for generations to come,” while Ernst opposed adding to the federal debt. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the proposal would add $256 billion to projected deficits.
Still, Ernst in a visit to Cedar Rapids last August committed to lobbying DOT officials for the bridge project to receive funds. Top city officials earlier this summer visited with Ernst, Grassley, Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and other federal agency officials to lobby for the bridge project and discuss other items.
C.R. seeking $56.4M from U.S. DOT for Eighth Avenue Bridge replacement
The city of Cedar Rapids is trying again to seek a massive grant — $56.4 million — from the federal government to reconstruct the Eighth Avenue “Arc of Justice” Bridge over the Cedar River.
www.thegazette.com
