Cost of Pedestrian Bridge Near Vikings Stadium Grows

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The cost has grown for a pedestrian bridge serving the new Minnesota Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

Reports say a Metropolitan Council committee Monday approved a new price tag that's nearly $2.7 million more than expected.

The proposal is now estimated at $9.65 million. A final vote is expected when the regional planning body meets Dec. 9.

The Met Council received just two bids for the work. The project involves building a bridge between U.S. Bank Stadium and a new park and other parts of a redeveloped Downtown East. The idea is to avoid a pedestrian crush near the busy light-rail transit station.

The Met Council had budgeted $7 million for the project. But when bids arrived in October, the two received were far higher than anticipated.