Could a $130 million gondola project alleviate congestion on the Branson strip?

Director of Public Works David Miller has worked for the City of Branson for 25 years. The entire time, he said, the tourist destination in the rolling mountains of the Ozarks has been looking to alleviate the gridlock that can develop on Highway 76, the theater-studded Branson strip.

As a result, the panacea has long been seen as something off the ground. A monorail has been floated multiple times. "Personal Rapid Transit," a system of individual automated cars moving along elevated tracks, has been proposed. But funding remained elusive, and projects never got past the concept stage.

Now, a new Missouri-based company has proposed a gondola line — think ski lift, not Venice.

At a Branson Board of Aldermen study session on Thursday, American Gondola pitched an approximately 8.5-mile route from Branson Landing to Silver Dollar City, with stops along the way, at a Branson Board of Aldermen study session. Total project cost has been estimated at $130 million.

"We saw an opportunity to not only do transportation, but be an entertainment venue as well," American Gondola President Jeff Green told the News-Leader Monday.

The city is being asked to sign a memorandum of understanding. Essentially, Miller said, that would indicate that the city is interested in the project, and won't work on a competing project for a period of five years.

The city is also being asked to contribute about $12 to $15 million toward the project, but that wouldn't be in the form of direct financial assistance. Rather, the company wants to be able to use city-owned right of ways or to get assistance in acquiring easements. Some work being done as part of the city's "Spirit of 76" improvements on the road, such as burying power lines, would also factor in.

"It's not costing the city any extra," Miller said.

Of all the aerial transportation concepts discussed in the last 25 years, this one is the closest toward actually happening, Miller said. Information presented to the city says private funding for the project "will be available in the near future" and is dependent on the city signing the memorandum of understanding.

While American Gondola was just formed as a company in April, Green said, the company's leaders had been exploring the feasibility of the project in Branson for years, Green said. If the project moves forward, American Gondola will work with Leitner-Poma, the Colorado-based subsidiary of a company that has installed transportation systems in more than 60 countries.

"Urban gondolas are one of those things that have worked very well in other parts of the world," Green said. "They're really interested in bringing that market to the United States."

Under the current proposal for Branson, gondolas would fit eight people each. They would be powered by electric motors, and travel between 10 and 15 mph; total capacity would be 3,000 people per hour each way. In addition to the main route from Branson Landing to Silver Dollar City, there would be a spur line to Branson Meadows.

Support poles would be placed about every 500 feet, with terminals that allow for entry and exit about a half mile apart. At wind speeds up to 35 mph, the system would function normally. Winds between 35 and 50 mph would slow the system, and sustained winds above 50 mph would bring operations to a halt.

The system would operate 18 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to midnight, and 10-and-a-half months out of the year. The gondola cars would be wheelchair accessible and have room for items like bicycles.

Riders would buy passes for a day or more, as opposed to paying for individual rides. A three-day pass would likely be about $27, or $9 a day, Green said, but otherwise pricing is still being discussed.

"The question we have is what 's the one-day pass going to run," Green said. "It's not going to work at $9."

If 10 percent of Branson's tourists buy a one-day pass, Green said, the operation should break even. And that doesn't take into account those who might buy passes for longer periods, or other revenue possibilities like advertising on the cars.

Additionally, Miller said there was discussion of potentially offering weekly or monthly passes to the system for Branson residents who want to use the system regularly.

Currently, the only public transportation in the city of 11,000 is a free trolley financed by Historic Downtown Branson Community Improvement District, which doesn't leave the district. Miller said occasional attempts at citywide public transportation have been largely unsuccessful.

"We tried to do buses and trolleys over the years with some private firms, and they got stuck in the traffic," Miller said.

There really isn't a comparable gondola project in the United States, Miller said.

"Branson can be the first in the nation to combine a function 'people moving' infrastructure project with an entertainment venue," American Gondola said in its presentation last week. "We expect to see interested parties from around the nation and around the world to come see the 'Branson Gondola' experience."

The aldermen will have a first and second reading for an ordinance that would approve the memorandum of understanding at meetings on Nov. 10 and 24. If the ordinance is approved, Green said, American Gondola will take that back to its investors. Financing could be finalized by the spring, and engineering and design work would begin as well. Some construction could begin by late next summer.

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