It should be bold and visionary, dramatic yet practical, contemporary while respectful of history.

Those are the challenges architects, engineers, designers and others worldwide will face in fashioning a design for a new pedestrian walkway proposed for the statuesque West End Bridge.

The Pittsburgh Riverlife Task Force and the Alcoa Foundation will kick off an international design competition today aimed at giving the City of Bridges a signature piece intended to link a burgeoning trail network and provide better waterfront access.

"We're really challenging competitors to prepare a visionary yet feasible design that will reflect the innovative future direction of Pittsburgh while it enhances the bridge itself," Riverlife Task Force Executive Director Lisa Schroeder said. "And, ultimately, we hope the design will create at the location of the bridge a place that brings together earth, water and sky."

The competition will run through Jan. 31. Alcoa Foundation has provided a $413,000 grant to help with administration and to award prizes and stipends to finalists at various stages of the competition.

With today's launch, interested parties can go to www.riverlifecompetition.org to get applications, rules and other information.

Proposals will be displayed at a public exhibition in early February, when finalists will be selected for a second round of competition beginning in March. The task force hopes to announce the winner in April. It will impanel a jury of professionals and community representatives to help select finalists and the winner.

One part of the competition is open to architects, designers, engineers, artists, and students throughout the world. The task force and foundation also will conduct a separate request for qualifications seeking the participation of firms recommended by consultants.

From the entries, about a half-dozen finalists will be selected. They will be asked to develop more advanced design proposals and invited to Pittsburgh for site visits and information session. Each will receive a $15,000 stipend to offset costs. The eventual winner will receive a $7,500 cash award.

Once the victor has been determined, the task force and other public agencies may seek to negotiate design services for the proposed bridge, access points, and water lands.

"The goal here is to make the rivers and the riverfront the center of the community of life and this structure will help us to do that," said Kathleen W. Buechel, president and treasurer of Alcoa Foundation.

Since the first discussions of the new footbridge last spring, the task force has received numerous inquiries about the competition, from places as far as Germany, Austria, England, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.

Designers will face some tough challenges in developing the walkway.

For one, the walkway must be anchored to the West End Bridge, which is considered an engineering masterpiece, and maintain the span's historical integrity. Also, designers must contend with a 66-foot drop from the bridge deck to the river's edge and the lack of easy access to city trails.