The City Council received the TH 169 Pedestrian Bridge Alternatives Study at the August 17, 2021 City Council meeting. The study outlined possible geometric layouts for the pedestrian bridge and trail with a recommended alignment from city staff and WSB and Associates. The preferred bridge aesthetics were also discussed in the study.

City staff and WSB and Associates have coordinated with various stakeholders and have finalized the preferred geometric layout (see attached). Minor design revisions have been made to meet specific design standards and remain generally consistent with the preferred layout originally presented to Council.

The bridge aesthetics have also been updated. The original intent was to match the aesthetics found on the existing (east side) pedestrian bridge on Marschall Road (CSAH 17) that would also match the new (west side) pedestrian bridge currently under construction on Marschall Road. This included installing green chain link fencing on the bridge, painting a green stripe on outside edge of the bridge deck and installing green pedestal style lighting fixtures. With the further advancement of the Marschall Road pedestrian bridge project, the county has indicated that their contractor is not able to procure the special order green chain link fencing due to the nature of the fence, and the manufacturers have indicated that we should not expect this style fence to be available anytime in the near future. As a result, the proposed bridge aesthetics for both the city's and county's bridge projects have been revised.

For the city's pedestrian bridge project, the updated aesthetics would match and take cues from the proposed city monument signs that are currently underway as well as provide a blend with the County Road 69 bridge aesthetics on the west end of the city. A black metal railing with the Shakopee logo is proposed for the portion of the bridge that spans above TH 169, and black fencing for those portions along the east-west spans and approaches on each side of the freeway. LED lighting is proposed to be integrated into the horizontal elements of the railing (vs. free standing pedestal pole type of lighting). An updated bridge aesthetic exhibit has been developed for the TH 169 Pedestrian Bridge Project and is attached.

Elements of this updated aesthetic theme are also being considered and are expected to be implemented by the county on the new west side Marschall Road pedestrian bridge. With that said, it should be noted that the city will need to subsequently work with the county to eventually upgrade the existing east side Marschall Road pedestrian bridge aesthetics to match the new west side bridge (e.g. replace green fencing with black rail, paint light poles black, and paint the existing green stripe).