The parks accompanying the new Liberty Memorial Bridge are beginning to take shape on paper, but choices still need to be made along with decisions on funding.

Ulteig Engineers and the North Dakota Department of Transportation sponsored a public meeting Thursday evening at the Heritage Center to provide an update on the parks progress and allow input on the various options still to be decided upon. Nearly 40 people attended the meeting and had a chance to view some of the proposed features of the parks.

Brant Malsam, Ulteig senior vice president and project manager, explained the original focus on the parks, one on either side of the bridge, goes back to 2001. It wasn't until last summer that cost estimates were put to the various amenities that will make up the parks. Originally Transportation Enhancement funds, which will pay for most of the parks construction, were put at $1.25 million in federal funds and $125,000 from each Bismarck and Mandan.

But the latest estimates, based on original plans, put the construction at almost $2 million with Bismarck's share at $175,000 and Mandan's $217,000. The Bismarck City Commission voted to maintain its original $125,000 investment while the Mandan City Commission has yet to make a determination on what it is willing to spend, Malsam said.

Some of the most expensive features, including the incorporation of the old bridge's piers into the parks along with observation decks extending out over the river, have been taken out of the project.

Malsam said that, besides the cost of the items, there were also concerns about the safety of the deteriorating piers and also that the observation decks would become obstructions to river traffic. Costs have been trimmed significantly though, leaving Mandan's contribution at $145,000 and Bismarck's at $135,000 for the best of a series of options.

Further reductions can be made, said Ulteig's AJ Wallevand. Changes to lighting, pedestrian paths, landscaping and even the footprint of the parks can be made to bring costs down.

As part of the mitigation for removing the original Liberty Memorial Bridge, which is on the national register of historic places, there are certain features required in the parks that commemorate the bridge, Malsam said. These include a commemorative plaque in a park setting, the use of bridge remnants or replicas in the park and information panels that focus on the importance of the original bridge.

Among the choices to be made include what type of remnant will be displayed on top of a 10-foot high base. The choices include lattice work that is found at the entrance portal of each side of the bridge or a bridge joint with multiple pieces. There are also choices for the bases: either a replica of the old bridge's pier or of the new bridge's pier. The interpretive display will also have a base using mini-replicas of the original bridge's piers. The information panels can either be in full color or in sepia to provide a historic look.

There will still be river observation decks in both parks, but they won't extend over the river. They will include colored cement to show the footprint of an original pier.

The Bismarck park will include irrigation and landscaping for the upper plaza as well as the lower park. There will be paths, park lighting, seating and perhaps raised planters.

Ulteig is providing three funding brackets for the Mandan park based on contributions of $145,000, $125,000 and $100,000. Hopes are to include utilities for a restroom and vending area, but the actual buildings will have to be built by the city at its own cost. Reductions in things such as the lighting, amount of pedestrian paths, seating and landscaping will all be determined on how much the Mandan City Commission contributes.

Malsam explained that the park will be Mandan's first along the river, providing the only real opportunity for people to walk up to the river on the Mandan side.

Ulteig will be collecting comments until Feb. 15. Final decisions on financial contributions from Bismarck and Mandan are expected by the end of February. A decision document will be produced by March and plans will be completed in September. Bid openings will be held Sept. 21, with construction to start in the spring of 2009.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)