A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday in Fulton to celebrate the completion of the Second Street bridge construction.
At the ceremony, Fulton City engineer Kyle Bruemmer said the opening of the bridge was "a really big day."
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Fulton applied to several grants to help with funding for the project.
"We failed, we tried again, we succeeded," he said.
Several different city departments came together to work on the bridge. Bruemmer thanked the streets, utilities, water, electric, wastewater, gas, fire and police departments for their work on the project.
The plans and specifications for the bridge were made by Great River Engineering. Don Schnieders Excavating also worked on the project.
"This project has been delivered on time. Obviously we still have a few little odds and ends to do, but we'll get those wrapped up. The big thing is we are getting this thing open back to traffic," Bruemmer said.
He also thanked the citizens and businesses of Fulton that "had to suffer through this with us."
Several local officials and people important to the project cut the ribbon on Friday, including Glenn Danuser, co-owner of Danuser; Steve Myers, Fulton Mayor; Renee Tyler, Fulton director of administration; Jeff Banderet, Great River Engineering vice president; and Don Schnieders, among others.
Bruemmer said construction on the Second Street bridge began in March. The completion date for June was set when the job went to bid.
New asphalt was also laid in the area near the bridge.
The cost for the project was approximately $1.5 million, Bruemmer said. A grant covered one million of the cost, with Fulton paying for the rest.
Now that the project is completed, Bruemmer said it turned out "pretty nice."
"I think it's a major, major improvement for us," he said.
Bruemmer said the previous bridge was very narrow and had very small sidewalks.
The new bridge will connect the city, Bruemmer said.
"From the big trucks that deliver to Danuser to just the citizens who want to get out and walk down here and maybe cut into our trail system right here, they now have that ability. It's a huge improvement for us," he said.
The aerial utilities above the bridge will soon be moved under the bridge with the rest of the utilities. Bruemmer hopes this happens within the next year, but the completion date is expected to change because of supply chain delays.
Second Street bridge opened for traffic on Friday.