Ringgold City Council is opting to cut the cost in half for a pedestrian bridge by cutting back plans for the structure to be covered.
Architect Ross Andrews offered the city options for a $200,000 covered bridge or a $100,000 open bridge, which council members unanimously favored. The bridge will create a safe walkway from the parking lot across Highway 41 parallel to the Depot.
"You would see the bridge as you head east to Dalton before you go under the Highway 41 railroad tracks next to the Depot," said Andrews, who estimates bridge construction to begin in five months. "I want the bridge to be twice as strong as a normal pedestrian bridge because it will be a viewing platform for Ringgold parades. We might consider making it out of steel from FM Russell Company in Ringgold or the council could decide to make it out of precast concrete."
Mayor Joe Barger said the council should consider safety, appearance and cost when deciding how to construct the bridge. He said prisoners could build the bridge to save money on labor, but steel beams will require a certified welder.
Andrews said the idea is for people to park across the street and walk over the bridge to make it safely to the Depot. He said right now people have to dodge cars to cross the street after leaning over the road to look down the tunnel.
"The pedestrian bridge will make an ugly bridge look beautiful," he said. "The bridge will be lighted."
Andrews advised the council that attaching the bridge to the wing walls of the railroad would be best.
"If it bears on the walls, the bridge will be 30 feet long because that's how wide [Highway 41] is between the walls," said Andrews, adding the bridge will be 10 feet wide. "It would be 40 feet long not bearing on the walls and would cost more and be structurally more challenging."
Councilman Larry Black said the open bridge needs a preventive measure to keep people from throwing things off the bridge.
Andrews said he proposes to install a fence guardrail like the railroad has now, so a child could not fall through it.
"We would make the guardrail at least 54 inches tall to meet regulations for bicycles," said Andrews. "Open could be like my design with landscape or it could be a pre-engineered structure chain link fence. I would like a fence, but with a landscape buffer that could be an equivalent safety method."