New plan for uptown Rail Trail Bridge

CHARLOTTE — The city of Charlotte and other backers of a long-delayed pedestrian bridge over Interstate 277 hope to open what is now a $17.6 million project in late 2027.

The city confirmed to CBJ that it started accepting bids from prospective contractors this fall, with reviews of submitted proposals to begin Dec. 4. If no satisfactory proposals are received, bidding will be re-opened and extended.

A city spokesperson told CBJ the revised schedule for the pedestrian and cycling bridge linking uptown and South End calls for construction to begin in mid-2025 and finish late in 2027.

The city and Mecklenburg County approved $3.1 million each for the bridge in 2018. A year later, Charlotte Center City Partners secured a $1 million private gift from U.S. Bancorp’s (NYSE: USB) U.S. Bank to help close the funding gap for what was then estimated as an $11.5 million project. It started at $11 million.

Since then, the project — to be known as the Rail Trail Bridge — has encountered delays caused by design complications, revisions and the pandemic.

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