Osage Beach looking for additions to Grand Glaize Bridge after pedestrian death

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (KMIZ)

Osage Beach is hoping to add a walkway to the Grand Glaize Bridge after a pedestrian was killed last week.

Osage Beach Mayor Micheal Harmison said the bridge splits the city, making upgrades the local government's responsibility.

"We're one of the few cities in the United States that's actually separated by a bridge," Harmison said. "And so this would be on the city. We have asked MoDOT if they could give us some assistance."

Harmison says that there are people who try to cross the Grand Glaize Bridge every day on foot because that's their only option if they don't have a car and want to get across.

The City of Osage Beach has met with the Missouri Department of Transportation, which brought two options to Osage Beach regarding the bridge. One is to have a walkway connecting to the existing bridge. The second option would be a freestanding footbridge not attached to the Grand Glaize Bridge.

ABC 17 News spoke with Osage Beach MoDOT engineer Danny Roeger and ran down the cost for both options. "The standalone structure could be anywhere from maybe 20 to $30 million. Very rough estimate," said Roeger. "Any additional facilities constructed to the side or potentially below the existing ground Glaze Bridge would be upwards of ten to maybe 20 million as well."

A few months ago, Osage Beach was given a $1 million Safer Streets grant that requires a 20% match.

Osage Beach city officials will meet with the MoDOT bridge division in the coming weeks.