Lake Of The Ozarks Pedestrian Bridge? Osage Beach Mayor Hopes To Find A Way Over The Grand Glaize

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — It's a grand vision to connect the two sides of Osage Beach for pedestrians: a walking bridge over the Grand Glaize.

"Our city is divided by a lake," said Osage Beach Mayor Michael Harmison. "Everybody kind of laughed at me when I took office and one of the first things I said was, 'We need a pedestrian bridge.'" But Harmison was serious, and still is. The city recently received $800,000 in federal grants for a variety of transportation safety projects, and some of those funds could possibly be used to design and help build the bridge. City officials will discuss the grant funds next Wednesday, along with potential uses.

A walking bridge would connect two populous areas of the city with the largest development in decades.

Topsider Condos sits at one end of the Highway 54 Grand Glaize bridge; at the other end, crews are working to finish Oasis at Lakeport, a $350 million family-friendly entertainment district, indoor waterpark, and Marriott hotel and conference center planned to open in 2025.

"Maybe we can get the developers to pitch in for the cost," Harmison said. "I have reached out to [Congressman] Blaine Leutkemeyer's office at the national level. I've talked to folks at the state level. There are grants and money available."

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The recent $800,000 grant was awarded to Osage Beach by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.

Harmison said some of the money would be allocated for a third party study on a potential pedestrian bridge. He expects that to happen in the next six months, and said he would love to have a plan within the year.

Initial estimates for building a pedestrian walkway range from eight to 20 million dollars, according to sources Harmison talked to. The cost would depend greatly upon whether the walkway could be attached to the current Grand Glaize Bridge structure. The Missouri Department of Transportation says the Grand Glaize Bridge could not support adding a pedestrian walkway to it, but Harmison is still hopeful.

"There's a way to shore up the bridge to make an attachable walkway," he said. "Plan B would be a freestanding bridge. I love that idea, but you're talking about maybe 20 million bucks."

Harmison said the government process is tedious, so planning the project will be slower than he likes. The mayor added that, being new to government (he's still in his first mayoral term), he's very impatient.

"I know it's something we really need and I'll be pushing for it," Harmison said. "I would love to someday see that you can go up and down Osage Beach Parkway. People could park their bike, go have a beer, and then they can shop."

The "bike" reference is a nod to the city's expectation of expanded bike trails throughout Osage Beach, which that federal grant is also expected to support. Read more about the bike trails plan, here.

The Lake is growing, and Harmison anticipates the regional developments could bring an additional 500,000 people to the area over the next couple of years. (How many people visit the Lake of the Ozarks annually? View LakeExpo's breakdown here.) Pedestrians, boaters, and businesses could benefit from a walking bridge in the area, said Harmison.

"Maybe it's Friday night at eight o'clock in the summer, and people hear music playing," Harmison said. "It's the Lake, so maybe they've been on the boat and they've got a few drinks in them and they don't want to drive — which they shouldn't — but they could walk across and enjoy the amenities that are by the Oasis."

Harmison said a walkway for foot-traffic would be beneficial for safety as well. The Highway 54 Grand Glaize Bridge is the only way to get from one side of Osage Beach to the other (alternate routes would take nearly an hour). And while sidewalks exist along much of Osage Beach Parkway (which was the original Highway 54 up until 2011), which runs on both sides of the city, the parkway currently merges onto the Highway 54 Grand Glaize Bridge. On Jan. 24, a pedestrian on the Grand Glaize Bridge was killed after being struck by a vehicle.

A freestanding bridge would be a major undertaking. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources would be involved. The bridge piers would need to anchor into the bedrock, and pillars would have to line up with the current ones for boating traffic.

"Both options are complicated," Harmison said. "But in this day and age, everything's doable."