The Iowa City City Council approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing officials to apply for no more than $750,000 from three funding sources for the development of the Iowa River Trail.

The three are the State Recreation Trails Program, the Federal Recreation Trails Program, and the Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program.

Funds from any of these programs would be used to develop a 10-foot-wide trail from Foster Road along Dubuque Street and over Interstate 80 to Waterworks Prairie Park, according to city documents.

City transportation planner John Yapp wrote in a proposal that the project would include a pedestrian bridge over I-80, and the bridge’s design would be very similar to the Highway 1 bridge over I-80.

City officials say the trail would increase recreation activities and improve the quality of life for residents of and visitors to Iowa City.

The project has an estimated cost of $2.1 million. The city has received two federal grants for the project totaling $935,000.

— by Kristen East