$160M-plus gondola system could come to Branson

Last edited 8:55 a.m. Dec. 21, 2016.

Branson’s aldermen approved an agreement on Dec. 13 with a company planning to bring gondolas to the city.

The aldermen voted 5-1 to enter a memorandum of agreement with American Gondola Inc., which plans to construct a gondola system that could span from downtown along 76 County Boulevard to Silver Dollar City. The gondola system would be fully funded by AGI and cost between $160 and $200 million, according to Jonas Arjes, executive director of the Taney County Partnership, who has been involved since the early discussions of the project.

ADI plans to develop about 12 terminals and 57 support poles to connect the system. The length of a ride from downtown to Silver Dollar City would be about 40 minutes, and about 400-600 gondola cars would carry 3,000 passengers an hour each way. The gondola would create full-time jobs for up to 150 people.

Though the memorandum was approved, a final contract must be approved before construction can begin. Arjes confirmed the contract is scheduled to be brought before the city by AGI in November 2017. A construction date for the transit system has not been determined.

Branson Tri-Lakes News first reported on the gondola plan Friday.

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