Granite Falls finishes iconic footbridge

GRANITE FALLS - Granite Falls will celebrate the restoration of its historic pedestrian bridge spanning the Minnesota River with activities that will also kick off the 2015 Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl, also called the Meander.
The dedication ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the footbridge at Eighth Avenue and Prentice Street in downtown Granite Falls.
According to a news release, the event will also commemorate the completion of a flood mitigation work in the community that has spanned two decades and required an investment of over $35 million.
The pedestrian bridge was reopened in September after a $1,490,000 project to restore it.
It was the first steel suspension bridge in Minnesota when it opened in May 1935 at a cost of $7,600.
Its original plans and steel cables that hold its 285-foot span were developed by the John A. Roebling and Sons Company.
John Roebling (1806 - 1869) invented the twisted steel cable that holds the loads of suspension bridges and is famous for building the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
The Granite Falls pedestrian bridge has become a symbol of the community’s resiliency after surviving the floods of 1997 and 2001. Water covered its east-side deck during both flood events.
The celebration will begin with a “Super Hero Walk’’ of costumed children, a ribbon cutting ceremony and an actor-portrayed narrative of the history of footbridges in the community.
Floating luminaries will be released upstream of the bridge.
Local singer and songwriter Jerry Ostensoe will perform an original song he composed for the event.
The crowd will also join in singing “Granite Falls,’’ a song originally created for a walking theater production that had been performed as part of the Meander kickoff in 2013.