Building a pedestrian bridge, especially one that extends over a four-lane road, takes time and teamwork.

Gainesville officials are working with the state Department of Transportation to build a pedestrian bridge that will allow shoppers and convention attendees to travel easily from Gainesville’s downtown to the city’s redevelopment-targeted midtown district.

The bridge — which will likely extend over four-lane Jesse Jewell Parkway from the west side of the Georgia Mountains Center to where Gainesville Fire Station No. 1 is currently located — is the longest that DOT officials have dealt with in the area, communications director Teri Pope said.

Assistant Public Utilities Director Tim Collins said city officials met with DOT officials two weeks ago for a “kick-off” meeting but have not yet submitted any plans to the department for review.

“We’re supposed to have some plans for our first review about the middle of July,” Collins said.

He said city officials were working with DOT officials early in the process to get the project off on the right foot. City officials hope to be ready to bid the project out to contractors by the end of the year, Collins said.

The permitting process could take up to three months, Pope said, but DOT officials will work with the city throughout the bridge’s construction.

“It takes a while to go through that and make sure the plans meet our standards and are also buildable,” Pope said.

Plans for the 10-foot-wide bridge’s location could affect a few of the oak and magnolia trees that live on the edge of Roosevelt Square.

City Council members have asked project managers to try to save the trees.

Project Manager Jarrett Nash said he believes most of the trees will be spared by trimming a few limbs, but city officials are not sure that all them can be saved.

To reduce traffic problems during the bridge’s construction, the DOT likely will place restrictions on construction hours, Pope said.

“We will definitely work with them to ensure that vehicular traffic will always keep moving and there will be no lane closures during high travel times,” Pope said.