The City of Whitefish invites the public to the grand opening of the Skye Park Bridge on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m.
City officials are asking people to either park at City Beach and walk to Skye Park Bridge or join in the Community Bike Ride starting at 5:30 p.m. from Riverside Park. The community bike ride will tour new bike paths on the way to Skye Park Bridge for the ceremony.
The grand opening will include a ribbon cutting ceremony with representatives from city council, the bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee, the park board, city staff, and contractors involved in the project. The grand opening will be taking place during an awareness week focusing on the importance of biking and walking in our community.
The Skye Park Bridge spans the Whitefish River just upstream of the train bridge, 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 also supports the weight of emergency vehicles, allowing emergency access to homes on Birch Point Road when access to that neighborhood is cut off by a railroad crossing.
Thomas, Dean & Hoskins Engineering completed the design and managed construction of the 180-foot pedestrian bridge and path project over the Whitefish River. Dick Anderson Construction started the installation of the bridge in August of 2015. Bike lane approaches, landscaping, and paving were all completed in 2016. The project received funding from the Tax Increment Fund and Community Transportation Enhancement Program.