LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – The future of Lincoln’s skywalk system is the subject of legal uncertainty after the project’s original contracts expired and plans for a downtown shopping mall were dropped.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Chief Assistant City Attorney Chris Connolly says city staff and the original skywalk system’s building owners are discussing how the skywalks should be handled in the future. City staff will be considering whether the downtown skywalks are a useful system for the city to maintain.

Lincoln’s original skywalk system was built in the late 1970s and early 1980s to connect five blocks in the city’s downtown, providing an indoor pathway. Additional walkways were added later.

Contracts covering construction, continued maintenance and public access within the original system have expired or will soon end.