The Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy will open bids Monday to construct a $23 million land bridge over Wurzbach Parkway.
Phil Hardberger, a former mayor of San Antonio, said Wednesday the bridge will be the first of its kind in the U.S. and will be named after philanthropist Robert Tobin.
“It’s gonna be beautiful and spectacular, and something that will last for the next several hundred years,” Hardberger said, “which is worth doing, isn’t it?”
The conservancy raised $10 million after the city's 2017 bond program provided $13 million dollars for the project.
The land bridge will connect the two parts of Hardberger Park split on either side of Wurzbach Parkway near Blanco.
The former mayor said he realized the bridge construction will disrupt traffic on one of the city’s busiest roadways.
“I do apologize for those people that use Wurzbach,” he said. “The good news is it will never be closed. Lanes will be closed, but you will still have traffic going both directions.”
Mayor Ron Nirenberg thanked voters for approving funding for the largest parks bond in the city’s history and said the bridge will be a iconic landmark for years to come.
“San Antonians don’t just want a city that functions well, they want a city of beauty; they want a city of green space,” Nirenberg said.” When’s the last time that we got to add green space to the community?”
Hardberger expects the land bridge to be completed by the end of 2019.
Jerry Quijano can be reached at newsdesk@tpr.org or on Twitter @jerryquijano
