Call it a pallid sturgeon excursion.

Omaha leaders are planning a family
destination on the city's side of the
Missouri River pedestrian bridge. The
project calls for several features, including
an interactive play area with sculptures of     
wildlife native to the river.

Plans also include a water-spray area where
kids can play and a large, sloping field where
people can sit and look down on the play
areas and the river.

Omaha Parks Administrator Larry Foster said  
city officials wanted to make the landing "more
spectacular" than what was proposed by the
bridge architect. Those plans called for green
space, landscaping and a flagpole.

Now the city is looking at a $2.2 million to $2.5 million project and will work with the nonprofit group Back to the River on fundraising.

"It's always been our desire to do it," said Mayor Mike Fahey of a more ambitious project. "We just knew that it would take some extra effort."

Marlin Petermann, assistant general manager of the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, said the district may contribute money to the project. The board will vote Thursday on giving the project $200,000. The NRD already has given $1 million to the bridge project.

"The NRD's been a strong supporter" of river projects, he said.

The $22 million bridge, set for completion in late 2008, will link Omaha and Council Bluffs. Bluffs leaders previously announced that their side of the bridge will have a mix of parks, trails, living space and shops.

On the Omaha side of the river, the new park will be mostly inside the sloped circular walkway that's part of the bridge.

Omaha's plans reflect the city's urban environment, whereas the Bluffs side is more in line with the natural character of the flood levee that the bridge goes over, said Gayle Malmquist, who heads Back to the River and is Council Bluffs' development services coordinator.

The project on Omaha's side of the bridge is the latest in the city's march back to the riverfront. It joins the Qwest Center Omaha, Lewis & Clark Landing, the National Park Service regional headquarters and Gallup University campus.

Omaha's portion of the bridge is being built in the middle of the city's riverfront development - between the Riverfront Place condo development and the Park Service building.

The features planned for the Omaha side of the bridge actually will cause the shape of the curved entrance ramp to be changed slightly. Foster said the change will not cost extra money because that part of the bridge has not been started.

The sculptures in the Omaha play area will be used to teach children about the local environment. Foster said the tentative name is "River Critters."

The critters probably will include a fish called a pallid sturgeon and the least tern, a bird. Both are endangered. Foster said children will be able to climb on the sculptures. Other play equipment will go in the space as well.

Foster compared the idea to "Doorly's Pride," the sculpture of a lion pride near the main entrance to the Henry Doorly Zoo that is popular with children.

An interactive water play area with sprays and mists will let kids cool off in warm weather.

Walkways that connect to the existing Omaha river trail system will lead visitors through a plaza to an entrance stairway. The stairway will take visitors to the top of the sloped green space inside the ramp curve.

A bus stop will be near the ramp on the Omaha side. Visitors will be able to use the parking lot of the National Park Service building after hours on weekdays and anytime during the weekend, Foster said.

A restaurant also in planned near Omaha's bridge landing, though it technically will be part of the Riverfront Place development. That restaurant could be around 5,000 square feet and is described by city leaders as tavern-style.

The city says it's not yet known who would operate the restaurant. It would be separate from Rick's Cafe Boatyard, which is to the south of the bridge area at Lewis & Clark Landing, another city park.