Ehud Olmert, Jerusalem's mayor at the time, wasn't just seeking a functional solution to a traffic problem. He wanted a symbol.
Today's Jerusalem is filled with ugly construction sites.

We should have a poll giving everyone the chance to vote for the ugliest.

Entering or leaving Jerusalem from the area of the Central Bus Station is a visual, and sometimes traffic, nightmare.  The planned Calatrava Bridge just doesn't match anything in the city.

Of course, it looks amazing in this computer-generated picture, but even the normally fearless express terror at traveling on or under it.  Here's another perspective.

The great beauty of Jerusalem is in its soul and how the light turns the stones golden.

Don't forget who was Mayor when this very expensive and flashy bridge was planned.  No other than Ehud Olmert, the one and only.