Historic Bridge Has New Life As Recreation Trail By Nathan Johnson The Press & Dakotan For eight decades, cars and trucks rolled across the Meridian Bridge in Yankton’s downtown. As of November 2011, that traffic has consisted only of bicycles and pedestrians. Beginning in the spring of 2010, the 3,000-foot double-deck bridge underwent a $4.8 million conversion to make it a recreational structure. The process included reinforcing many of the bridge’s steel joints, adding railings and installing lights. The original plans called for the conversion to be done in the fall of 2010. However, construction crews encountered more steel 16 – VISITORS GUIDE • YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA deterioration than anticipated, and it slowed the process. The new mission for the bridge allows it to remain a vital organ in the community and will ensure its unique architecture serves as a beacon for Yankton among future generations. Before construction of the Meridian Bridge, people who wanted to cross the Missouri River at Yankton had to use a pontoon bridge or wait for the water to develop a sheet of ice. Recognizing that the city needed a bridge for future development, locals invested in Meridian Highway Bridge Company stocks and oversaw the bridge’s planning. It opened to traffic in October 1924. The bridge was one of the last major links in an international highway running from Winnipeg, Canada, to Mexico City, Mexico. The roadway traveled along the Sixth Principal Meridian and was commonly referred to as the “Meridian Highway” — thus giving the bridge its name. The top deck handled two-lane traffic at first because a railroad was intended for the lower deck. The railroad never came, and the lower deck was eventually opened to regular traffic. Originally, operators could also raise the portion of the bridge between the two piers to allow boats to pass under it. In those early years, a toll was imposed on motorists to pay for the structure. On Sept. 8, 1953 — after more than 5 million vehicles had paid the toll to cross the Meridian Bridge — the City of Yankton declared that it would pay off the bridge and turn its title over to the highway departments of Nebraska and South Dakota. A few weeks later, the “Free in ‘53 Days” campaign began as the city expected to make the bridge toll-free on or around Dec. 1, 1953. With the construction of the Discovery Bridge to the west in 2008, plans were solidified to convert the historic Meridian Bridge into a walking and bicycling structure. PCiRoads of St. Michael, Minn., was awarded the project in January 2010. The South Dakota Department of Transportation was the lead agency overseeing the conversion, and the Nebraska Department of Roads provided support. Once the conversion was complete, the City of Yankton took over day-to-day maintenance on the structure. Plans are under way to build a recreational trail on the Nebraska side that would connect the bridge to Gavins Point Dam and the Corps of Discovery Visitors Center along Highway 81. A segment of that trail from the dam to Aten, Neb., is already complete. A primitive trail has also been carved into the wooded area on the Nebraska side of the Meridian Bridge that allows users to reach the shore of the Missouri River. On the north side, the trail ties in with the miles of Auld-Brokaw Trail that weave throughout Yankton. Officials anticipate the work done during the conversion will allow the Meridian Bridge to provide at least 25 more years of service to the Yankton area without the need for any major maintenance. VISITORS GUIDE • YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA – 17