The proposed bridge is huge. It dwarfs the old bridge and separates motorists from the calming experience of a drive through Minor Park, which visitors to this website have told us is a major reason for choosing to live in the Red Bridge area.
The proposed bridge simply does not fit the natural contours of the land. Here you see a wooded valley on the north side of Red Bridge Road. This area features several large trees and a steep limestone cliff. An intermittent creek is visible here, too. But perhaps its greatest feature is the peace and quiet this natural space affords the people who live nearby. And it creates a scenic drive for motorists entering the valley from the west. Remnants of the Santa Fe Trail from frontier days are visible among the massive oaks just on the other side of the present road.
Rather than design a road that respects the land, the City plan calls for that valley to be buried with rubble, and the creek replaced with a concrete box culvert. Those homes on the hill will have their view of sycamore, elm, and hackberry trees replaced with an in-your-face road.
Crossing over the Union Pacific Railroad and the Blue River, the bridge will loom over anyone below. Will they feel at peace with what remains of their natural surroundings with an expressway over their heads? The noise level in the wider area of the Blue River valley will be increased by the soundboard effect of a large, elevated roadway un-muffled by surrounding vegetation.
On the eastern side, the bridge comes back to earth onto another pile of rubble, then the new road will go straight through another wooded area, on top of more landfill, and then intersect with Blue River Road.
For all this sacrifice, what are the benefits that this monster bridge would bring? The facts, sound research, and common sense will tell you that they are mostly illusory, exaggerated, or at least nothing that could not be accomplished with a bridge of a more human scale.