By C. David Kotok
World-Herald Staff Writer

Karla Ewert stood on the balcony of her fifth-floor Riverfront Place condo and checked out the view she will have of the new pedestrian bridge linking Omaha and Council Bluffs across the Missouri River.

Stephen Moore leads high school bands from Omaha and Council Bluffs at today's groundbreaking of the pedestrian bridge linking the two cities. He is conductor at Thomas Jefferson High in the Bluffs; he also was conducting the Omaha Central band.

The span across the river moved a step closer to reality for Ewert today as Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan ceremonially turned over the first shovels of dirt on the $22 million bridge.

"I'm looking forward to looking out the window at that bridge all lit up," Ewert said. "That's my dream."

Ewert, vice president of communications for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, will move into her high rise condo on the Omaha side of the river along with other new residents in December. She will have to wait nearly two more years before the bridge will be completed.

But Chris Brown, one of the bridge designers, said the construction will be fascinating as the twin 200-foot spires, or pylons, rise - one from the Nebraska bank and one from out of the Missouri River.

While the onset of winter may seem like an odd time to begin a major construction project, it is perfect for this project, said Scott Gammon of APAC-Kansas, the lead construction company.

The river flow slows and the water is low this time of year. Gammon said the foundation for the pylon in the river must be sunk into the riverbed before March, when the water rises.

Fahey and Hanafan stressed that the bridge would bring long-promised unity to the two river cities. That unity was emphasized as the bands from Omaha Central High School and Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson High School performed together.

Fahey read from a 1868 letter from early Omahan Joseph Barker, who wrote a series of letters to his family in England. He writes of sitting on the hill where Central now stands and gazing east at the lights of Omaha and Council Bluffs and envisioning one city.

The six years of starts and stops on the pedestrian bridge at times seemed like the 138 years since Barker's letter, Fahey said.

"It wasn't easy," Fahey said, but, in two years, the ribbon should be cut.

"This is an opportunity to make this metro area a great place," Hanafan said. "This is a great opportunity for all of us."

The prospect of the fully lit, twin-spire bridge punctuating the riverfront is one of the reasons Ewert said she was attracted to Riverfront Place.

The 36 condos in the tower and 16 town houses were designed to maximize views of the pedestrian bridge, said Ben Proctor, sales manager of Riverfront Place. "It's huge," he said of the tie between the residential development and the bridge.

Proctor said all but two of the condos and two of the town houses have been sold. Sales of condos in a second tower are likely to begin in January, he said.

On the Council Bluffs side on the bridge, a park is planned along the riverbank.

Some of the onlookers at the ceremony came to the riverfront on two wheels.

Sean Weide was among those on bicycles who view the bridge as a critical link between paths in Omaha and Council Bluffs. "For us, this is an important safety aspect," said Weide, a member of Team Kaos, a bicycle racing team.

To cross from Nebraska to Iowa bike paths, Weide said, cyclists are forced to take either the South Omaha Veterans Memorial Bridge or the Interstate 680 Mormon Bridge, he said.

"This will make 50 miles of trails accessible without ever getting into a car," Weide said.