The Dodge Street Pedestrian Overpass in Omaha grew from parents' concerns about children safely crossing busy streets on the way to school during the city's post-World War II growth. After Omaha began building pedestrian bridges on school routes in 1962, parents from St. Margaret Mary's pushed for a crossing over Dodge Street, and the city commissioned Durand, Jackson and Associates, Inc. to create a structure of beauty. William H. Durand's March 1965 design replaced ordinary straight ramps with an elegant S-curved steel form and originally included an electric heating grid in the deck to melt snow. Although the project was first canceled after bids exceeded the $50,000 budget and bid notice errors complicated matters, continued traffic growth and parent pressure revived it in 1967. Despite objections over its placement in Memorial Park and concerns about views of the War Memorial, city leaders approved construction, and after weather and steel delivery delays it opened in April 1968. The 380-foot bridge, with a sweeping box girder span, precast concrete deck, and four steel piers, won the top prize in its category from the American Institute of Steel Construction in 1969 and became a beloved and indispensable part of Omaha's cityscape. A 1990s road-widening proposal that would have demolished it was withdrawn after popular opposition, and in 2004 it was designated a Landmark of the City of Omaha. The overpass was designed by William H. Durand, an Omaha engineer, pilot, airplane and building designer, and educator whose career included teaching engineering, establishing the Aeronautics Unit at Omaha University, wartime work instructing cadets and reorganizing B-29 production at Fort Crook, and later completing hundreds of engineering projects after founding his own firm in 1958.