The City of Milwaukee's Crossroads Project gets the Rudy Burner Award for Urban Excellence on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. in the Urban Plaza adjacent to the Marsupial Bridge, under the Holton Street Bridge. Emily Axelrod, Bruner Foundation Director will present Mayor Barrett and those instrumental in the creation of the project with a Silver Award and a $10,000 cash prize.

The Crossroads Project began in 1999 as an idea about creating connections in the Brady Street area, which was experiencing revitalization.

The project received the award because it "represents an innovative use of often overlooked interstitial spaces adjacent to urban bridges," and "is the product of community involvement and the creative reactivation of a brown field zone adjacent to a viaduct, and has sparked new commercial investment."

The project consists of an innovative bus shelter on Brady Street and Van Buren, the Marsupial Bridge and an Urban Plaza adjacent to the pedestrian and bicycle friendly bridge.

The unique design for the Marsupial Bridge and Urban Plaza was created by La Dallman Architects, with the structural design provided by Bloom Consultants. The sleek, sweeping design by La Dallman connects two neighborhoods: Riverwest (including Kilbourn Park) and Brady Street.

The Crossroads Project was selected for the award by a national panel of experts from nearly 100 entries from across the country. La Dallman Architects spearheaded the project's submission with input from community activists, DPW staff, arts groups, city planners and others.