By Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin
On behalf of the City of Jefferson, it is an honor to welcome you back to the Capital City. As the Mayor I sincerely thank you for your service to our great state.
Did you hear the great news that we will soon have access from the Capitol to the Missouri River? Thanks to generous donors, the Bicentennial Bridge to Adrian’s Island will be built entirely with private funds! The bike/pedestrian bridge will begin with a “Veteran’s Walk” between the Senate garage and the Veteran’s Memorial, leading over the railroad tracks in 4 replica rail cars which will be a museum of history and education, adding to the experience leading from the Capitol to the riverfront. The bridge will be an easy grade down to the landing, perfect for walking and biking. Once on the island you will find a riverfront park with native habitat and full grown trees, trails and stunning views of the river and Capitol!
See the video at BicentennialBridge.org. There are still sponsorship opportunities available, an amazing way for an individual or business to be part of a very visible landmark, to be completed in time for the state’s Bicentennial in 2021. Construction is anticipated to take one year, with 7 months to select a developer and planning. How exciting it will be to have a window to the river, when visitors ask how to get from the Capitol to the river they will finally have that opportunity. This river city is very excited!
Adrian’s Island is around 30 acres, and spans from the Capitol to the historic Missouri State Penitentiary. The MSP Master Plan shows a marina at the prison site, which will loop this one-of-a-kind experience. It certainly is unique, we are the ONLY city that has a Capitol, a river, and a historic penitentiary.
The city is thankful to the state for the deed to 30 acres of the prison site, and we are preparing to send an RFQ to potential developers to build a hotel, meeting/civic space, potential retail shops, restaurants, residential. As the city prepares to send this out in January, please let me know if you have any contacts who would like to receive the RFQ.
Prison tours will resume in March, it’s one of the biggest tourist attractions with exponential growth in visitors. Please join us for the annual Concert Inside the Walls this summer! Travis Tritt, Wynonna, and Big & Rich have all performed in the historic upper yard!
Also be sure to visit the new Special Olympics Training for Life Campus, the only one of its kind in the world, right here in Jefferson City! They also have meeting space if you are looking for a unique meeting spot.
The new Capital City High School construction is underway. Downtown streets and sidewalks are new, as we strive to maintain our beautiful historic city. Capitol Avenue streetscape is complete, and now the city is acquiring dilapidated properties and working through the process to have them transferred to those who will revitalize the homes, some of which are the most historic in the state, with irreplaceable history.
There are many new restaurants and shops, so please make yourself at home in Jefferson City. VisitJeffersonCity.com has upcoming events. JeffersonCityMO.gov is our city website, and the Mayor’s cell is 573-230-7645, and would be happy to answer any questions, take suggestions, and give city updates and welcomes anytime. Or maybe a #SelfiewiththeMayor! Welcome back #JCMO!
This opinion piece appears in the January 2019 Missouri Times Magazine.
