A pedestrian bridge costing nearly $19 million â about 24 percent more than the city's annual general fund allocation to the Parks Department of $15 million â will open to the public Thursday, July 1. Pam Zubeck An "iconic" pedestrian bridge, as described in the city's City for Champions application for state funds in 2013, will open to the public Thursday, July 1. The nearly $19 million bridge connects America the Beautiful Park, southwest of downtown, with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum and Hall of Fame, 200 S. Sierra Madre St., and a refashioned Vermijo Street. Local dignitaries and the project's architect will speak and then snip the ribbon at 10 a.m. They include Mayor John Suthers; El Paso County Commission Chairman Stan VanderWerf; City Councilor Randy Helms, who chairs the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (a funder of the bridge); developer Chris Jenkins, who chairs the Southwest Downtown Business Improvement District board, which also provided funding; and Benjamin Gilmartin, a partner with architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro.