Walking/Biking Part of St. Charles’ Newest Bridge Opens

There was no formal ribbon-cutting Friday, no coffee or pastries, no string of public officials, each taking a turn to sing the praises of this latest monument to mankind’s ingenuity.

Instead, beneath the canopy of a bright blue sky on a pleasant, sunny day, birds greeted the periodic walker, the occasional jogger and a trickle of cyclists making their ways for the first time over the pedestrian/bicycle crossing of the Red Gate Bridge.

“A nice job they did on this, huh?” a cyclist asked as he pedaled past a guy shooting video of the bridge. It was similar to the remarks of joggers, cyclists and walkers early Friday afternoon, the first day the pedestrian/cycling crossing had been open for use.

Red Gate Bridge, the city’s largest public works project and built at a cost of $30 million, opened to vehicle traffic during a mid-December ribbon-cutting ceremony. The pedestrian/cyclist crossing’ ribbon-cutting had been scheduled in early May, but the heavy rains and resulting Fox River flooding in April delayed completion of the project. The ribbon-cutting is now scheduled for June 15, 2013.

Related:

• April 27, 2013: St. Charles Wins National Honors for Red Gate Bridge
• April 13, 2013: St. Charles Slates Opening of Red Gate Bridge Pedestrian Crossing

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