Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox Pitches $750,000 Refurb for ‘Saved’ Pedestrian Bridge

A pedestrian bridge in Tuscaloosa that once seemed on the fast track for demolition may now get a $750,000 makeover instead after protests from nearby residents kept it from the trash heap.

As the Thread first reported in February 2024, the city council was considering demolishing the bridge crossing Veterans Memorial Parkway over concerns about its long-term structural integrity, low foot-traffic counts, and more.

The council's Projects Committee recommended the demolition, and the matter was one vote away from conclusion when a grassroots effort sprang up to advocate for keeping the pedestrian bridge in place, surprising elected officials.

When it came time to vote on the demolition last March, the council instead tabled the matter, sparing the bridge indefinitely while they met with those advocating for it.

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More than a year later, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox proposed a $750,000 fix-up for the bridge during his Tuesday presentation of his capital projects budget - his recommendations for how to spend about $14.5 million left over from the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

In those recommendations, Maddox advised the council to invest this money in the bridge if they are against seeing it torn down.

"To basically refurbish the Veterans Memorial Parkway Pedestrian Bridge is $750,000. That's just to put it back to our standards, clean it up, try to get it repainted and get some of the fencing fixed," Maddox said. "I know this was a project that the council asked not to be included for demolition, so to bring it up to our standards is going to cost three-quarters of a million."

The full council will have to consider and vote on the mayor's recommendations, but one of the voices who advocated for saving the bridge was local artist and activist Loretta Lynn. She told the Thread that even though they haven't crossed the finish line yet, it's good to see the conversation turn from the costs of demolishing the bridge to how much to invest in improving it.

"It absolutely feels like such a win, such a victory. My whole life, I've been advocating for things in my community or in our state and a lot of times it doesn't go as we've planned. There have been a lot of losses, it's not always a success or a win, but this one feels great," Lynn said. "Not only did we get what we wanted, but I think there's a lot of excitement and buy-in from the mayor and city council about what we can do with the bridge and the opportunities that are there."

Lynn thanked council president Kip Tyner for championing their cause in City Hall, but said every elected official took time to meet with a group of advocates and better understand their thinking.

If the council decides to invest in sprucing up the bridge, Lynn said the efforts of those who wanted to see it saved will turn to what they might do to further enhance it - perhaps partnering with a local school or the Kentuck Art Center - but none of those ideas are set in stone so far.

For more coverage of Maddox's capital recommendations and other news out of City Hall, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.