That and more has been anticipated for years as plans slowly, and sometimes not so surely, came together for the Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge between Council Bluffs and Omaha.

Ground was broken this morning near the National Park Service offices on the Nebraska side, beginning a two-year project that will make the bridge a reality.

Bands from Thomas Jefferson High School and Omaha Central High School played as Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan and Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey helped to commemorate the beginning of an historical project for the metro area.

"We have an opportunity to make this metropolitan area a great place," Hanafan said. "This is the first step."

Chris Brown of HNTB, the designer of the bridge, said following two months of preparation on both sides of the river, the main span foundations will be started - one on each of the river and one in the middle of it. A temporary work trestle will come out of the Iowa banks.

"The drilling is just done in the water," Brown said, adding it could start as early as January.

The bridge concept dates back a dozen years to the early days of the Back to the River Project when former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., suggested area residents think about how to best use the Missouri River's immense commercial potential. A 1995 study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service concluded that the community had concerns over its lack of access to the river.

In 1998, a trails and crossings plan was developed, with suggestions raised for water taxis, a gondola and a pedestrian bridge. The bridge became the preferred option.

In 2000, during his final term, Kerrey secured $17 million in federal funding for the bridge. The plans have undergone substantial revision, and the debate has continued about the bridge's merits since that funding was secured. Those revisions trimmed the cost from an initial $44 million proposal to the current $22 million.

The project always has been a joint venture of both communities and government agencies on both sides of the river. Council Bluffs is currently developing a master plan for the area near Playland Park where the bridge will land. Significant development already has taken place along the river on the Nebraska side.

"I'm proud we've been able to turn this dream into a reality," Fahey said.