Clearwater's Memorial Causeway plan is featured with six other completed structures in a Boston architectural exhibit on 21st century U.S. bridges. The preliminary design of the planned Memorial Causeway bridge is being touted as one of seven "Landmark American Bridges of the 21st Century" in an ongoing exhibit of the Boston Society of Architects. The seven structures are all on their way to becoming community symbols, according to the society. "The bridges were seen as being very important within their urban landscape and making a contribution to the improvement of the urban scene," said Boston architect Fred Gottemoeller, who is designing the Memorial Causeway with HDR Engineering Inc. of Tampa. For the Memorial Causeway plans, some of the people-friendly amenities highlighted in the exhibit include benches with shade coverings, a 12-foot-wide, colorful concrete path for pedestrians and a sleek, modern design with few supports to block views across Clearwater Harbor. Designers also envision railings with lighting built into them to create a thin, bright ribbon across the bridge at night. A winding ramp would allow people to enter the bridge by foot from Coachman Park. Skylights would let light shine through the bridge's approach near downtown Clearwater. Miguel Rosales, another principal of Gottemoeller's firm designing the Clearwater causeway, put the display of innovative bridges together for the Boston Society. The society sponsors such exhibits for about two to three months to educate the public, according to a spokeswoman. The exhibit opened last month and will run until Jan. 28 at the 3,500-member regional society's headquarters in Boston. In addition to Clearwater's future bridge, the exhibit includes structures from across the country and in various stages of construction. It includes: the Charles River Bridges in Boston; the Raccoon River Bridges in Des Moines, Iowa; the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C.; Chicago's Damen Avenue Bridge; the New Peace Bridge in Buffalo, N.Y.; and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California. But the Clearwater Memorial Causeway is fairly conceptual, compared to the other bridges in the exhibit. The City Commission has not officially approved the bridge's design, particularly the amenities. Commissioner J.B. Johnson recently questioned City Manager Mike Roberto via e-mail about why the bridge's design was in an exhibit so prematurely. "My concern, or note of interest, was why are we being listed when we haven't approved anything," Johnson said. "I think there're a lot of amenities that could be eliminated. I think we need to concentrate on a very nice beautiful bridge that will take us to the bridge and bring us back. There's too much expense." Commissioner Ed Hart, who lives on Clearwater Beach, said that many residents would enjoy the proposed overlooks where they could watch sunsets from the bridge. But he said he, too, is waiting to see the final costs of all the ideas before approving them. Even without the amenities such as benches and special lighting, city officials say the bridge's basic, proposed design is still unique enough to merit inclusion in the exhibit. People visiting the exhibit seemed "very much impressed by the basic design and the flow of the bridge," said City Engineer Mahshid Arasteh, who viewed the displays last week. "They liked how light and airy and smooth the lines are." The total cost of the Memorial Causeway, which city officials hope to finish by 2003, could be as high as $49-million, if the commission opted to include up to $3-million in amenities, said Public Works Administrator Rich Baier. Features will be chosen by the commission after the city seeks bids on the bridge from contractors, Baier said. The commissioners will be asked to look at the list of prices for various options and decide what they want.