Osage Beach Is Studying How To Make The Grand Glaize Bridge Walkable

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — Could one of the most-traveled bridges at Lake of the Ozarks one day welcome pedestrians and bicycles?

Osage Beach is exploring the possibility of whether the Grand Glaize Bridge — recently designated the Officer Phylicia Carson Memorial Bridge — could be expanded to accommodate foot traffic and bike traffic.

At their Thursday, Aug. 6 meeting, Osage Beach aldermen approved a resolution directing a federal-grant-funded transportation study to examine whether the existing Grand Glaize Bridge could someday accommodate pedestrians and bicycles — potentially requiring changes to the bridge's current lane configuration.

The City has already received about $1 million through the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant. And the bridge isn’t the only area City leaders want to look at: they’re also studying Osage Beach Parkway to determine how to make it more pedestrian-friendly.

“A few things came up with the safety action committee and the public engagement… really around walking and biking in Osage Beach… specifically getting over the Grand Glaze Bridge,” Ashley Winshell of Wilson & Company told the board. “We did talk to MoDOT a little bit about whether this is something they would support, and they were intrigued but wanted to see more study and more conversations before they jump on board.”

If there were such a project in the future, it would likely be funded through a federal grant, Public Works Director Jeff Fischer told the board, mentioning a BUILD grant specifically. He and Winshell explained that including a walkable/bikeable Grand Glaize Bridge in this larger transportation study would give the city a greater chance of success in applying for federal grants down the road.

For now, Winshell said the City could look at taking on “bite-sized projects” to improve the sidewalks along Osage Beach Parkway, which is the City’s main business parkway but does not have consistent sidewalks throughout its length.

“I’m just excited that we are moving forward with sidewalks,” said Alderman Stephen George, “because every conversation you have out there is, ‘Why do we not have sidewalks?’”

The planning effort is expected to be completed by 2028.