5 takeaways from the city of Erie's first public meeting on the Kahkwa Bridge replacement

Kevin Flowers, Erie Times-News
·4 min read

Three proposed designs, millions of public dollars and plenty of input from citizens.

Thursday night’s first public meeting on the city of Erie’s plans to replace the Kahkwa Bridge over Ravine Drive on the city’s west side featured all of those components.

City officials presented the plans before roughly 70 people in the Bagnoni Council Chambers at City Hall. The session was the first of at least two public meetings planned in relation to the project.

Demolition of the Kahkwa Bridge over Ravine Drive in Erie began in October, 2021. The 57-foot-long, 101-year old concrete arched span, which carried auto and pedestrian traffic across Kahkwa Boulevard and over Ravine Drive, was torn down over concerns about its dilapidated condition, including crumbling and falling concrete.
Demolition of the Kahkwa Bridge over Ravine Drive in Erie began in October, 2021. The 57-foot-long, 101-year old concrete arched span, which carried auto and pedestrian traffic across Kahkwa Boulevard and over Ravine Drive, was torn down over concerns about its dilapidated condition, including crumbling and falling concrete.

The consultant hired to design the new bridge is TranSystems Corp., based in Kansas City, Missouri, and with an office in Pittsburgh. TranSystems is being paid up to $585,424 for the bridge work, according to a resolution City Council approved in June.

Brian Krul, a project manager for TranSystems, explained the project and the bridge designs under consideration during Thursday's meeting.

The city demolished the original 101-year-old bridge in October 2021 over concerns about its dilapidated condition, including crumbling and falling concrete. The bridge was 57.1 feet long and 27.6 feet wide.

The Kahkwa Bridge connected two sections of Kahkwa Boulevard as it goes over Ravine Drive, which is the only route to the Erie Yacht Club and Ferncliff, a group of bayfront houses east of the club.

The city has already determined that the new bridge will, like the old bridge, carry cars and trucks with space set aside for pedestrian, and the new bridge will have what city officials are calling enhanced spaces for pedestrians.

The demolition project was to include the construction of an access road through one of the wooded ravines that line Ravine Drive. But Erie Mayor Joe Schember in spring 2021 backed off that plan after neighbors complained about how the road would destroy trees and wildlife habitat.

Here are some key takeaways from Thursday’s meeting.

What bridge designs are being considered by the city?

Krul told the audience that three alternatives are being proposed:

  • A multi-girder design of concrete and steel, with a vertical clearance of about 24 feet. Estimated construction cost: $2 million.

  • A precast concrete arch design, nearly 23 feet high at the center. Estimated construction cost: $2.5 million.

  • What’s known as an open spandrel arch design, primarily concrete, which features a vertically curved concrete slab and vertical columns supporting floor beams and the bridge’s deck. That bridge would be about 22 feet high at the center. Estimated construction cost: $3.1 million.

How does funding for the new bridge break down?

Schember's administration is seeking additional construction funds, said Renee Lamis, Schember's chief of staff. One of those sources could be the Erie County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the public body that allocates funding for transportation projects countywide.

The MPO and city officials co-hosted Thursday's meeting.

Some of the funding that the MPO allocates comes from an additional $5 fee Erie County motorists started paying in 2018 to register their vehicles. That funding was also used for design costs related to the new Kahkwa Bridge and demolition of the former bridge.

The city is also pursuing state grant funding for the bridge. "Because it's a vehicular bridge, we can get funding," Lamis said.

What about pedestrian/bicycle access?

All three of the proposed bridge designs would include enhanced space for bicycles and wide sidewalks along the bridge, with "crash-worthy" barriers, such as guardrails, installed near the sidewalks, Krul told the meeting attendees.

What do residents of that area think?

Lincoln Avenue resident Jay Shimek said he preferred the multi-girder design, although he’s not convinced the barriers at the top of the bridge are necessary.

Kathryn Raezer, a resident of nearby Ferncliff Beach, called the entire bridge project “totally unnecessary” and said she expressed that to the city via previous surveying of local residents.

Julie Leonard, who lives on Columbia Circle, asked about the life expectancy of all three bridges. Krul said all three bridges have a “pretty good lifespan” of between 75 and 100 years.

Daniel Yunes, a Crescent Drive resident, asked whether additional greenery, such as flower beds, could be added to the designs “to make it more appealing.”

Krul said additional greenery would be considered as part of the project.

What's next with the project?

City officials will select a bridge design from the three proposed alternatives — after considering additional citizen input — sometime before a second public meeting on the bridge plans takes place in October.

The date, time and location of that meeting will be announced later.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kahkwa Bridge options emerge in Erie City Council public meeting