New Department of Transportation concepts for parks-plazas to be built on sites under the new Liberty Memorial Bridge, partially in tribute to the old bridge, are coming with higher estimated costs than original designs.

Bismarck city commissioners don't want to fund any more than they've already committed to. The commission approved a motion to cap its contribution at $125,000 at Tuesday's meeting.

City engineer Mel Bullinger told commissioners that he and other representatives of Bismarck and Mandan met with North Dakota Department of Transportation officials to explore options for the property under the existing Liberty Memorial Bridge.

A concept for the parks-plazas had been included with original plans for the new bridge, but hadn't been explored. Since that time, the NDDOT had selected a consulting engineering firm to take a close look at the projects that will be built on other side of the river once the existing bridge is demolished.

Hopes had been to incorporate piers from the old bridge into the parks-plaza designs as possible overlooks, Bullinger said. But the poor condition of the piers prohibits this.

One thought was to tear down the old piers and put up new ones, but this would be expensive, Bullinger said.

Another feature of the park requires salvaging a piece of the existing bridge that will be part of a monument in the center of the plaza. Other features include benches to make the park more user friendly and keep in theme with the river front trails that will be nearby.

The estimated cost of building the new bridge is $61.1 million. The federal government is picking up 90 percent of the cost, the state 5 percent, Bismarck 3.5 percent and Mandan 1.5 percent, Bullinger said. Bismarck's share of the bridge is $2.3 million, with $2.1 million coming from city sales tax and $206,000 from a utility fund because of the water main that will go under the new bridge.

The parks-plazas are separate from the bridge construction, with the federal share, 80 percent, coming from Transportation Enhancement funds, leaving the cities to come up with the remainder.

"The first thing we asked, with costs increasing and exceeding the city's agreed to share, was if money from the new Memorial Bridge might be used to help offset the cost," Bullinger said. "We determined that was unlikely. At one point in time the city had agreed to $75,000 for the park and just this year went to $125,000."

City Commissioner Sandi Tabor asked if there was any way to design the park to stay within the budget.

"I would think there is," Bullinger said. "They (NDDOT) did provide a pared down version from the $2.2 million project they proposed. It shows Bismarck's cost decreasing by not putting up any overlook, just an observation deck. This brought Bismarck's contribution to $156,000, about a $70,000 savings. For the $2.2 million park, the city's portion would be $226,000."

Bullinger asked for some direction from the commission, at which point Commissioner Dave Jensen made the motion to cap the city's funding at $125,000. Tabor seconded, admitting that she thought the city had spent enough. Mayor John Warford supported the motion, saying that "prudence is important here."

The motion passed on a 4-0 vote.

Bullinger said that Mandan's costs are very similar, but the Mandan commission had yet to make a decision on funding. The NDDOT had planned public meetings on the project for the end of November, but that schedule has been changed until details can be worked out.