Pedestrian bridge to open on northside

Ribbon cutting at noon

Official opening for a nature trail and key pedestrian crossover in La Crosse. At noon, Thursday, the ribbon cutting will take place for Bud Hendrickson Nature Trail and Pedestrian Bridge on the northside.

It’s been a combined effort to get to this point, says northside city council member, Andrea Richmond, who added Dairyland Power helped out by donating land to expand the trail and Burlington Northern granted the easement for the bridge so that it could span the width of the company’s rail yard.

But, Richmond said, Hendrickson was the guy who started the trail that eventually turned into what can now be used to cross over the Burlington Northern yard on the new pedestrian bridge. That bridge connects the northside to trails that go into Onalaska.

The total bridge project cost about $4 million, most of which was paid for with federal grants.  The city first started seeking grants for the project in 1999.