A new plan is being proposed to save the Friendship Trail Bridge.
The bridge - the original Gandy Bridge spanning Old Tampa Bay - was officially shut down in December 2008 because it was deemed unsafe by engineers. Bridge problems include corrosion, missing concrete and broken steel reinforcement bars.
But now, a group wants to save the bridge from demolition, saying its plan will save money and bring more people to the bridge.
"This is a plan that takes us from just trashing something, throwing away millions of dollars on things that'll cost to replace, and instead taking it and transforming it into something that no other place in the world has,'' said Kevin Thurman, a volunteer with the group trying to save the bridge.
Today, the group will announce its plan to raise $13.7 million over the next eight months to tear down the surface of the bridge except for the hump and the infrastructure, and replace it with a 16-foot wide pedestrian walkway.
"We want to talk to the community around here,'' Thurman said. "Whether it's somebody who can give us $25 or somebody's who's interested in giving us more and sponsoring a span of the bridge that we would want to redo. We believe that if we work with the community, we can raise the money to build this bridge."
The bridge has sat idle since 2008, decaying from age and abandonment. In the nine years before it closed, the structure was used by thousands of Bay area residents to run, walk, cycle and fish.
Now its future will be decided in the coming days. The group will make its presentation next Wednesday. Commissioners will then decide whether to give the group time to try and raise funds or turn down the proposal.
Developers say it would take about five years to complete the transformation of the bridge. And that fix would last an expected 30 to 40 years.