Old bridges do not die with dignity. But bad as she looks, Bloomington's rusted and fenced off Old Cedar Avenue Bridge still has its fans. Hundreds of them showed up at a rally Saturday in support of the bridge -- or at least its replacement.
?Your presence shows how important this bridge is to people,? said State Representative Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington.
Opened in the 1920's, the Cedar Avenue Bridge closed part of the gap over the Minnesota River.
The new Highway 77 bridge and years of decay brought an end to vehicle traffic in 1993, then closure to walkers and bikers nine years later. Neither walkers nor bikers have forgotten their old friend.
?This is one of the places I come down for bird watching,? said Terry Houle as he sat on his bike near a chain link fence, ?but it gets road blocked right there.?
Lenczewski is backing a $4.5 million bike and pedestrian replacement built on the old bridge?s still solid cement structure. So far state and federal commitments only cover a third of the cost. ?We?re looking for the state to do the rest, and the city of Bloomington has offered to do some,? said the legislator.
Engineers say the old bridge is close to collapse, but not everyone is paying attention to the warning signs or stopping for the fences. An hour before the rally, two fishermen climbed up between rusty metal I-beams and walked down the bridge to their fishing hole.
Dying bridges aren't necessarily pretty, but there's one in Bloomington that still serves a purpose.
(Copyright 2007 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
