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In a recent memo to the Yankton City Commission, City Manager Eric Swanson outlined a number of steps that have been taken to move the bridge project along.
"We're at a critical time," he said last week. "There isn't a week or a day that goes by Š where somebody from the city, or Chamber, or some interest such as the Building Yankton's Bridge Committee is not calling, making contact, ensuring that this thing is moving ahead."
In a meeting with officials from the South Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Nebraska Department of Roads (DOR), Swanson learned of preliminary bridge design issues that will affect Yankton's Water Treatment Plant at the south end of Broadway.
A 300,000-gallon raw water sedimentation basin and the water intake system at the plant may need to be relocated. Swanson said.
"After doing some additional engineering on the South Dakota approach, it was determined that the best alternative would be for the city to either relocate or come up with some other way to continue the operation of the plant with the basin being located somewhere else," he said.
The initial projection to relocate the basin, pumps and piping is approximately $1.2 million, according to Swanson.
"That's a real preliminary estimate," he said.
The city will proceed with putting together a design to relocate the basin and intake system so that the matter can be resolved before the bridge is built in 2006-07, Swanson said.
"This actually becomes part of the bridge project," he said. "So, this is at no cost to the city."
At the same meeting, Swanson learned more details about a requirement by the National Park Service (NPS) for 40 acres of city-owned property on the Nebraska side of the river. The NPS is requiring that the property be placed on a conservation easement.
The city's property is located within the NPS boundaries which are part of the natural and scenic river designation. The easement would require the city to maintain the property in a manner that is consistent with that classification, Swanson said.
"This would prohibit us from locating a bait shop or some other commercial venture there," he said. "In my mind, it doesn't preclude us from seeing the property being developed with some other use. Š There could be some sort of use that would complement that future reuse of the existing bridge."
Swanson has requested that the NPS submit a draft of the proposed easement for review by the city attorney prior to consideration by the City Commission.
"We just want to make sure that we don't commit ourselves to something that would ultimately not be Š positive for the city," he said.
The environmental impact statement (EIS) for the bridge project is also moving forward, according to Cynthia Veys, the environmental section manager in the DOR's planning and development division.
Veys said a deal between the City of Yankton and the DOT on future ownership of the Meridian Bridge has helped move the EIS process forward. Under the agreement, the DOT will assume ownership of the Meridian Bridge, which will be converted to a pedestrian bridge.
Consultants on the bridge project have been given the go-ahead to finish resolving some of the issues that were tied to whether or not the existing bridge stayed in place or was demolished, Veys said.
"Now that we have the decision that the bridge is going to remain, we need to finish up the historic consultation with the two state historical preservation offices," she said.
Veys also noted that design concerns from the NPS and questions from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding changes to the river environment are also being addressed.
"I would anticipate that we would have a signed, final environmental impact statement sometime this fall," she said. "And then it would be circulated to the approving agencies."
While Swanson expressed some concerns that the date for finalizing the EIS seems to be "slipping away," he pointed out that steps have been taken to keep the bridge project on track.
"The fact of the matter is, the project does have a time frame," he said. "We've overcome that hurdle because we've already got the project in both state budgets."
The EIS needs to be finalized before final design work on the new bridge can be completed, Swanson said.
"At some point in time, it's critical that the process be completed so there's enough time for them to design, bid it out and proceed ahead," he said.
Veys said the EIS process is almost complete.
"It's a slow process, but it's near the end," she said. "The big hurdle was what was to be done with the (current) bridge. Once that decision was made, all those other loose ends had to be tied up."
Another component of the project is securing federal funding for the new bridge. Congress has previously approved approximately $4.2 million towards the cost of the bridge replacement, but it is expected to cost approximately $22 million.
Swanson said he will work with Jim Black, chairman of the Building Yankton's Bridge Committee, to ensure that congressional delegations from South Dakota and Nebraska support the project as they debate the reauthorization of the Federal Highway Transportation Bill this fall.
Contact Susan Hoffmann at 665-7811 (ext. 128) or susan.hoffmann@yankton.net.
