Standing in the way has been that big slab of concrete called Interstate 5. However in a few months, that barrier will be crossed.

The local biking community is all excited and for a good reason.

ODOT and construction crews are bridging two towns with a new, one of a kind structure.

At first glance, you might think it's a mini-version of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Spanning 200 feet across I-5, the yet to be named bike-pedestrian bridge is rapidly taking form.

Eugene's Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, Lee Shoemaker, stated, "I think the design is great. It'll be a signature transportation facility."

Bicyclists have long been frustrated by the lack of options for traveling between the two towns.

This is the $2.5 million solution-- rising between Harlow Road and the I-5 Beltline flyover. It's part of the $72 million I-5 flyover state package.

ODOT Regional spokesman, Joe Harwood, says, "Not only is it going to be a beautiful bridge, but it's going to tie the bike path network of both cities together."

It's not just a new bridge that we're talking about here. Part of the project also includes this stretch of gravel which will be paved by this summer and be part of the new bike path leading to the bridge itself.

You'd be surprised how these concrete slabs are put together. Harwood explains they are pre-cast concrete decks and adds, "They're made somewhere else, trucked here and then they snap it together much like an adult Lego-set."

Except these Legos weigh five or six tons apiece.

Project managers say they're already getting a lot of calls from workers at Sacred Heart Hospital, wondering when the new bridge will be ready, so they can ride their bikes to the new Riverbend hospital that is set to open in August.

"With the new hospital going in, it'll be a very convenient way to get over there for work or for other business trips," says Lee Shoemaker at the city.

All in all, ODOT's Joe Harwood says the final result should be really sharp. "People that drive through here, to Seattle or to San Francisco, they're going to remember the bridge because it's a one of a kind bridge," states Harwood. It also reinforces the local area's commitment to multi-modal transportation.

This will be the sixth major bridge in Eugene, dedicated to bike or pedestrian uses. Construction should be done by early October, but ODOT officials say they'll delay public use of the bridge until the major work is completed on the I-5 flyover.