Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge

|bridge_name = J Robert Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge

|image = Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.JPG

|image_size=300px

|caption =

|official_name =

|carries = Pedestrian and bicycle traffic

|crosses = Missouri River

|locale = Omaha, Nebraska
Council Bluffs, Iowa

|maint =

|id =

|designer = HNTB Ted Zoli III, Director of Longspan Structures

|design = Cable-stayed

|material =

|spans =

|pierswater =

|mainspan = {{convert|506|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|length = {{convert|3000|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|width =

|height =

|clearance =

|below = {{convert|52|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|begin = October 26, 2006{{cite news|url=http://www.ketv.com/newsarchive/10164746/detail.html |title=Ground Broken On Pedestrian Bridge |publisher=KETV-TV |location=Omaha, NE |date=October 26, 2006 |accessdate=November 17, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104231722/http://www.ketv.com/newsarchive/10164746/detail.html |archivedate=November 4, 2006 }}

|complete =

|open = {{start date|2008|09|28}}{{cite news |url= http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26661026 |title= Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge To Open September 28 |publisher= KETV-TV |location= Omaha, NE |date= September 11, 2008 |accessdate= September 11, 2008}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

|map_cue =

|map_image =

|map_text =

|map_width =

|coordinates = {{coord|41.265634|-95.92231|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

}}

The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge{{cite news |url= http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10428458 |title= Omaha vote makes name official: Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge |work= Omaha World-Herald |date= September 9, 2008 |accessdate= September 9, 2008 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://archive.today/20130131094200/http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10428458 |archivedate= January 31, 2013 }} is a {{convert|3000|ft|m|adj=on}} footbridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. It opened on September 28, 2008.

Interest in a landmark bridge across the Missouri River arose after Omaha and Council Bluffs began replacing their older crossings with girder bridges which do not have towers (most notably the Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge).{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} The bridge is named after former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, who secured $18 million of federal funding for the bridge in 2000.

The bridge was redesigned in 2004 after the lowest bid for the project was $44 million. In May 2006, a final cable-stayed bridge design by Kansas City engineering and architectural firm HNTB was selected for the bridge. The $22 million bid included two {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on}} towers and a clearance of {{convert|52|ft|m}} above the river. Groundbreaking for construction of the bridge occurred on October 26, 2006.

The bridge is north of the Interstate 480 (I-480) girder bridge and connects the Omaha RiverFront to Tom Hanafan River's Edge Park in the former Dodge Park Playland in Council Bluffs.{{cite web |title=Lewis and Clark Landing |url=https://theriverfrontomaha.com/visit-the-riverfront/lewis-and-clark-landing/ |website=Lewis and Clark Landing - The RiverFront |publisher=Omaha RiverFront |access-date=23 February 2025}}{{cite web |title=Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge |url=https://www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/2178/Bob-Kerrey-Pedestrian-Bridge |website=City of Council Bluffs, IA |publisher=City of Council Bluffs, IA |access-date=23 February 2025}}

The lights on the bridge were donated by Gallup, which has their corporate headquarters and Gallup University located on the Missouri River adjacent the Omaha landing of the bridge. The bridge lights include programmable controls that can display multiple colors in the large lights at the top of the towers and alter brightness and timing of the lights that run the entire length of the bridge. The lights were officially unveiled in a ceremony on September 13, 2008. The bridge lights were turned on while the Phil Collins song "In The Air Tonight" was played over a PA system. The event was accompanied by fireworks.

Due to safety concerns prompted by the 2011 Missouri River floods, the entrance on the Iowa side was closed on July 2 of that year.{{cite news |url=http://www.ketv.com/news/28430963/detail.html |publisher= KETV-TV |location= Omaha, NE |accessdate= April 5, 2012 |title= Omaha News, Weather and Sports - Nebraska News - KETV NewsWatch 7 }} {{dead link|date=June 2012}} It reopened September 3, 2011.{{cite news |url=http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Iowa_Side_Of_Pedestrian_Bridge_Reopens_129197808.html |title= Iowa Side of Pedestrian Bridge Reopens |publisher= WOWT |location= Omaha, NE |accessdate= April 5, 2012}}

In 2015, the bridge joined Twitter as @BobTBridge, an effort by the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau.{{Cite web|url=http://www.omaha.com/living/omaha-bridge-gains-ability-to-speak-joins-twitter/article_263b7ad0-265f-11e5-a54b-b39e4a60d2ab.html|title=Omaha bridge gains ability to speak, joins Twitter|date=9 July 2015 }}

File:Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.jpg|Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge at sunset

File:Bobkerrypedbridge.jpg|Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in spring