At 10:45 a.m. Monday, the 153-year-old Kern Bridge was lowered the final 18 inches onto its piers in Mankato, completing its placement between Sibley Park and Land of Memories Park.
Three cranes carried out the slow lift after the bridge began moving around 8:55 a.m.; crews transferred rigging midspan and inched the span across the Blue Earth River before setting it down.
The bridge had been removed in February 2020 from a Le Sueur River site 5 miles away, then catalogued, stored, reassembled and painted before this installation.
Ancillary work — concrete trail connections, wood decking, railings and lighting — is still needed, but city engineer Cory Bienfang said the bridge should open to walkers and cyclists this fall.
Project costs rose from about $1.8 million to more than $10 million, with funding split 25% local and 75% state and federal grants.