An Unused Relic of The Electric City

Great Falls has it's fair share of things to do. The River's Edge trail which stretches beautifully down the Missouri River, Giant Springs state park with the worlds shortest river, and don't forget the number of Frisbee golf courses in town.

What I was looking forward to was the reopening of the historic 10th street bridge. This effort has taken over 25 years from vision to final product. This was a main hub of transportation back and forth over the river from the 1920's until the 9th street bridge replaced it in 1996. There was always talk as I remember of restoring it, and giving it back to the community.

However the process was rather slow.

Arlyne Reichert, with help from members of the non-profit organization Preserve Cascade, took on the task of gathering funds from a demolition budget to restore the bridge to better the community. According to The Electric they had to raise more than a million dollars to restore it.

Fast forward to the opening in 2021, not a lot of people started using it. I went there the weekend it opened, hoping to see people walking, jogging, and riding bikes all over it, I found I was the only one there.

I waited so long for the city to restore this and finally be able to walk on it. When I got there  I could see bird droppings, the pillars to stare at when I sat at a bench, plus the smell of the river bank. Going back a few times I still was the only one walking this historical bridge.

Despite the cons I found, it was a great place to walk and reflect upon the day. With a little routine clean up and community awareness, I think this would be a bit more fun. Nevertheless, Visit the 10th street walking bridge and make your own determination.