'Unity Bridge' in downtown Sioux Falls divides city leaders — again

TenHaken scraps effort to honor 'unifying' figures on 6th Street bridge after councilors say no to name

The so-called “Unity Bridge” project underway in downtown Sioux Falls has brought anything but — well — unity to municipal government in South Dakota’s largest city.

Mayor Paul TenHaken first touted this year’s flagship construction project for the city of Sioux Falls in his 2022 state of the city address, announcing the bridge would be designed in honor of community figures who’ve brought unity to the Queen City.

Encompassing Sixth Street from the Big Sioux River to Weber Avenue, the project called not only for the bridge to be called “Unity,” but also to be adorned with as many as eight bronze placards on the piers of the bridge.

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But the plans have hit snags along the way — first with bids on the project coming in twice as high as what City Hall had estimated. And this week, councilors said no to naming the bridge “Unity.”

But the name itself isn’t why TenHaken and the Council are again at odds over the project. Rather, a combination of spending concerns and questions about selecting “unifying” figures to memorialize on the bridge led to Tuesday night’s 5-3 vote rejecting name change.

“‘Unity Bridge’ is one thing I can support … but we’re going to need a lot more definitions,” Councilor Curt Soehl said, urging the administration to establish narrow criteria for what would make someone eligible to have their likeness bestowed upon the bridge. “For the life of me, I can’t think of somebody that is defined as a ‘unity person’ to put on this without some sort of controversy behind it.”

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