Fargo's Walking Bridges

The photo here, from 2009, shows how Sertoma Freedom Bridge used to be effected by flooding of the Red River. While the bridge could be hoisted into the air and placed on stanchions (photo two) to avoid annual flooding, a crane was needed to perform the task, at a cost. The fee in 2009 was $2000 per movement and at the mercy of the availability of a construction crew with a crane. Flash flooding and late flooding made the raising and lowering timeline little more than guesswork. Photo two is from june 2009 and the bridge is still lifted!

The bridge you see now, completed in 2012, can be raised and lowered electrically up to 45 feet in the air, assuring its safety from a 500 year flood. The cost of the improvement was $1 million for this bridge and the one at Oak Grove Park, but with daily estimated foot traffic of13,000 people on Fargo-Moorhead's three Red River walking bridges, the other being a floating bridge Island Park, this upgrade has proven to be a good investment.

Sources:

1. Fargo, Forum Communications Company 301 8th St S. “Lindenwood Park Unveiling $1 Million Lift Bridge,” May 5, 2014. http://www.wday.com/content/lindenwood-park-unveiling-1-million-lift-bridge.
2. Gr, Forum Communications Company 3 0 ©, Forks Herald, Forum Communications Company 375 2nd Ave N. Gr, Forks, and North Dakota 58203 Call us at780-1100. “Fargo, Moorhead Seek Pedestrian Bridges with Lift,” January 15, 2014. http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/fargo-moorhead-seek-pedestrian-bridges-lift.