ST. GEORGE — One piece of an overall plan to help create trail running from St. George to Zion National Park moved a little closer to reality recently with the approval of the construction and eventual installation of a pedestrian bridge over the Virgin River at Confluence Park in LaVerkin.
The Washington County Commission approved a construction contract for the bridge project during its Dec. 23 meeting for $259,000 for a prefabricated bridge. The overall structure is being built in two pieces off site and will be trucked in to the location.
In a meeting Tuesday, the County Commission approved a related contract for the installation of the bridge for $492,000.
“I think this is going to be a fantastic pedestrian walkway bridge,” Commissioner Victor Iverson said Tuesday. “It’s a part of our ongoing effort to create a trail that goes all the way from St. George to Zion. This will really provide an important link there that we haven’t had. I’m very excited.”
The new bridge will also link the neighboring cities of Hurricane and LaVerkin; both have worked with the county on sharing the costs of the bridge project. These and other communities have also worked together on Confluence Park itself and projects related to it.
“With been constantly working on Confluence Park with our partners,” Iverson said.
Confluence Park is a 344-acre natural area between Hurricane and LaVerkin where the Ash and LaVerkin creeks join with the Virgin River. The area is managed by Washington County through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and “sits at the bottom of large basaltic lava cliffs, leaving it isolated and protected from development in the cities above,” the reserve’s website states.
The park also sports the remnants of a decommissioned hydroelectric plant, an old dairy farm and signs of ancient Native American habitation.
The area has been a continual work in progress for the county and its partners for many years now, Iverson said.
The bridge project itself, while a part of that overall work, began to pick up steam in February 2020 with the approval of a contract by the county for engineering and surveys associated with building the bridges.
“This is one of those things that’s been on our list for a long time to get done,” Iverson said. “Its something that I believe the public – the entire county – and especially Hurricane and LaVerkin will enjoy.”
Plans of creating a countywide trail system, especially a segment connecting St. George to Zion National Park, have also been in the works for several years, with the Utah Department of Transportation awarding funding to Washington County in September 2021.
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