Whitefish celebrates new footbridge at Oct. 4 grand opening

The city of Whitefish invites the public to the grand opening of the Skye Park Bridge at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Participants should either park at City Beach and walk to the footbridge or join a community bike ride starting at 5:30 p.m. from Riverside Park. The bike ride will tour new bike paths on the way to Skye Park Bridge for the ceremony.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned with representatives from the City Council, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Park Board, city staff and contractors involved in the project.

Skye Park Bridge spans the Whitefish River just upstream of the BNSF Railway trestle, connecting the Birch Point Road neighborhood to the bike path near City Beach. In addition to extending the bike path and improving pedestrian access to City Beach, the bridge was designed to support the weight of emergency vehicles, allowing emergency access to homes on Birch Point Road when access to that neighborhood is cut off by a train crossing.

Thomas, Dean & Hoskins Engineering completed the design and managed construction of the 180-foot span. Dick Anderson Construction started the installation of the bridge in August 2015. Bike lane approaches, landscaping, and paving were completed this year. The project received funding from the city’s tax-increment revenue fund and the federal Community Transportation Enhancement Program.