The Tempe Town Lake Upstream Bridge will be a 0.2 mile long, grade-separated bicycle and pedestrian crossing west of McClintock Drive connecting Rio Salado's north and south banks. The bridge will provide a low-stress, off-street connection for users of all types with links to the regional bicycle/pedestrian paths like the Indian Bend Wash and Rio Salado Path system. It will include lighting, seating and public art, while remaining ADA compliant.

The bridge was identified in the Tempe General Plan 2040, in the 2015 Transportation Master Plan, and was recommended by the Transportation Commission. In 2018, The City of Tempe completed a Preliminary Design for the bridge and north bank multiuse path with a grant from Maricopa Association of Governments.  The bridge will utilize existing piers in Tempe Town Lake and will connect the north and south banks path systems.

Currently, Tempe Town Lake presents a barrier in the Valley Path regional off-street bicycle and pedestrian facilities traveling between Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix.  Any connection to/from other bicycle and pedestrian facilities on the north bank of Tempe Town Lake requires users to leave off-street facilities and share arterial streets (Rural, McClintock, Mill and Priest) or, alternatively, deviate approximately 2 miles to the west side of Tempe Town Lake and use the Downstream Dam Elmore Pedestrian Bridge.

This project would directly connect the eastern end of the north and south banks of the Rio Salado and the 51+ miles of regional shared-use paths that converge onto these banks.  Completion of this link will allow residents of these four communities to directly and safely access regionally significant employment, commercial and entertainment destinations (Tempe Marketplace, Mesa Riverview, Rio Salado Corridor, Old-Town Scottsdale, Arizona State University, etc.), without having to leave a shared-use path, share an arterial or circuitously go to the west end of Town Lake.