Henderson City Council moves forward on Galleria Pedestrian Bridge

By Aida Ahmed (contact)

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 | 8:51 p.m.

A new pedestrian bridge may be coming to the area near the Galleria at Sunset.

The Henderson City Council voted to authorize an almost $190,000 budget and accept bids for the construction of what will be called the Galleria Pedestrian Bridge, which would span the channel at Galleria Drive and Stephanie Street, near the Whitney Ranch area.

Assistant Director of Public Works Robert Herr said developer funds were contributed for the project in the early 1990s for a bridge across the channel just west of Stephanie Road.

The project, originally planned to be a vehicular bridge, was modified after a neighborhood homeowner’s association complained a vehicular bridge would cause unnecessary traffic.

“We’re proposing to do a pedestrian crossing at that location,” said Herr. “We’re in the process of getting a neighborhood meeting together so that we can go out and talk with the residents and make sure it’s in alignment with what they like.”

Herr said he hopes the bridge may open early next year.

“The funding is there,” said Herr. “If we do a pedestrian bridge we can just drop it in place so there is not a whole lot of prep work that has to happen.”

The city must still complete the design and bidding process, which could take up to three months. The project will include landscaping and trail improvements adjacent to the bridge.

Other than pedestrian bridges in city parks, city spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said the new bridge would be one of the Henderson’s few pedestrian bridges.

The first, Amargosa Pedestrian Bridge, opened in September. Located across St. Rose Parkway, the bridge connects several regional trails. The construction cost for the project was for more than $1.6 million and was funded through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.