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A nonprofit group wants to build a pedestrian walkway on the West End Bridge to link trails on Pittsburgh's shorelines.

The Riverlife Task Force today is expected to announce a $414,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation will pay for an international design competition for "world-class improvements" to the West End Bridge -- namely a structure that would welcome walkers and cyclists.

"This really will be a signature for Pittsburgh, for Pittsburghers, and for the people who come to this region to really experience the rivers like never before," said Kathleen W. Buechel, Alcoa Foundation president and treasurer.

The pedestrian crossing would be a key piece of the 9.5-mile loop of trails the task force envisions along the city's shorelines.

Known as Three Rivers Park, the loop would stretch from the 16th Street Bridge along the Allegheny River's North Shore, then over the Ohio River at the West End Bridge, along the south bank of the Ohio and Monongahela rivers and across the Hot Metal Bridge on the South Side. From there, the trail would follow the edge of the Golden Triangle, back to the 16th Street Bridge.

About two-thirds of the trails already exist, although some would need improvements.

The West End Bridge is several hundred yards from existing trails along the North Shore. To cross the Ohio River from the trail, pedestrians have to cross a parking lot and climb steep staircases to the West End Bridge. There, they find a narrow walkway along a span that carries heavy traffic.

Entrants in the design competition will have to suggest ways to overcome those problems, and to make the new pedestrian bridge comply with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, said Lisa Schroeder, executive director of the Riverlife Task Force.

The task force and foundation hope designers will come up with some dramatic ideas.

"We want it to be so distinctive and so inviting that it will be unmistakably associated with Pittsburgh," Buechel said.

Spanish engineer Santiago Calatrava, for example, designed the glass-decked Campo Volantin Footbridge that majestically connects two riverbanks in Bilboa, Spain. In England, the Trinity Bridge spans the River Irwell and provides an important pedestrian link between the cities of Salford and Manchester.

"This will not only unite all the various elements of Three Rivers Park," Buechel said of the West End Bridge walkway, "but it also will be a catalyst to bring people down to the rivers. We really hope this will be a destination for Pittsburghers and for people from around the world."

Submitted designs could reflect the steel, glass and aluminum industries that helped to build the Pittsburgh region, Schroeder said.

No estimates are available for the cost of the walkway, and there are no plans yet for how to pay for construction. Schroeder said the task force will pursue public and private financing.

The idea for the footbridge resulted from more than 100 community meetings, she said.

Requests for proposals in the design competition should go out at the end of summer, with a winner being chosen by the end of the year.

There is no timetable for construction, Schroeder said. A committee will oversee the contest, providing guidelines to architectural design firms around the world and then judging the entries.

"This will be a signature pedestrian connection between the North and South Shores of the Ohio River," said Buncher Co. President Tom Balestrieri, a committee member. "Alcoa should be congratulated for funding the design competition. It will allow all to see more than just The Point that identifies Pittsburgh."

Buechel and Schroeder also are on the committee, along with Karl Ishman, district executive for PennDOT District 11, which maintains the West End Bridge; Bill Strickland, the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild executive director; Terry Wirginis, Gateway Clipper Fleet president; and Riverlife Task Force co-chairs John C. Oliver and Dr. Edie Shapira.

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