Design costs for a new pathway that will link downtown Jackson and the west bank have increased by nearly $264,000.

Jackson and Teton County officials approved new contracts earlier this month with the two firms working to design the new trail. The agreements bring the total costs for planning and design work to an estimated $1.76 million.

The pathway project still falls within its $13.4 million budget, but the margin for error is slimmer because of the increased design costs.

“There have been a lot of changes because of the opportunities that have come up,” Jackson Hole Community Pathways Coordinator Brian Schilling said to elected officials during a meeting last month.

Nelson Engineering staffers, who are working on the western portion of the project, had to redesign the bridge over the Snake River to accommodate negotiations between the Jackson Hole Land Trust and a private property owner.

Other sections of the path have been modified. Along Highway 89, engineers from Jorgensen Associates have redesigned the trail because of concerns from landowners near the intersection of Broadway and Highway 22. They also had to incorporate bike tracks into their design.

Schilling estimates the pathway costs will total $13.1 million to $11.3 million in construction costs and ap-proximately $1.76 million in planning and design costs. The town and county have approximately $13.4 million in federal and state grants and county tax dollars to cover the project.

Government leaders are soliciting bids for the bridge that will carry pedestrians and cyclists along Highway 22 to and from the west bank of the Snake River. They’re expected to award the contract within the next several weeks.

Eight companies already attended a pre-bid meeting last month, Schilling said. At a meeting Monday, elected officials reviewed final design plans for the portion of the pathway that is slated to be built along Broadway.