CHARLES CITY - It's official: The city will receive federal funding for a pedestrian bridge across the Cedar River.

The money - slightly more than $2.83 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency - will help replace the historic suspension bridge destroyed in June by record flooding.

The funding will cover 90 percent of the cost for a prefabricated cable-stayed bridge. Total cost of the project is estimated at $3.15 million.

Rep. Tom Latham notified the city about the funding, City Administrator Tom Brownlow said. He added the city is waiting for confirmation it will receive a 10 percent match from the state.

A proposed engineering agreement with WHKS for the final bridge design will be on the council agenda March 16. The matter could have been settled in January, but council members did not approve the plans because they hadn't received official notification about the FEMA funding.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2010. The bridge that collapsed was 102 years old and represented a beloved landmark in the community.

Contact Mary Pieper at mary.pieper@globegazette.com.