APPLE VALLEY — Dakota County plans to build a $2 million pedestrian bridge over a busy road to link the Minnesota Zoo with a recreational trail.

The Star Tribune reports the planned bridge from the North Creek Greenway trail over the four-lane McAndrews Road is part of an effort to increase foot traffic and improve access to the zoo in Apple Valley.

The county is expected to open bidding on the project in 2015 and start construction in 2016. It plans to spend an additional $900,000 to pave the nearby trail and add amenities along zoo property to Lebanon Hills Regional Park.

The greenway is expected to connect destinations such as the zoo and the Vermillion River. Several road crossings by bridge or tunnel are planned for the trail’s 14-mile route.