Chain of Rocks Bridge Park in St. Louis opens to the public

The Chain of Rocks Bridge Park in north St. Louis opened to the public after about a year of construction for much-needed upgrades.

The ribbon-cutting event included live music, food trucks, exercise classes, and a pet-adoption event. Earlier in the day, visitors participated in a bike ride starting from nearby Chouteau Island, reported Newsbreak.com.

The park is at the previously much-maligned west end of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which carried old Route 66 for decades.

According to the Riverfront Times:

The project was funded by donors of the Great Rivers Greenway, local sales tax dollars and a grant from the National Park Service through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program.

The newly improved park features a new picnic pavilion, gated entrance, rehabilitated tributaries and prairies, drinking fountains and restrooms for park visitors. For Gerald Lyles, member of the Florissant-based Regulators Cycling Club, it’s a massive upgrade.

“They did a great job with the landscaping, everything is spruced up and it looks a lot nicer,” Lyles says. “It gives you an opportunity to come out, walk over the bridge, bike over the bridge, and it’s safe.

The safety comment is not without merit. The west side of the bridge became notorious for vehicle break-ins. It got so bad, Route 66 enthusiasts recommended parking on the Illinois side of the bridge instead.

Among the security upgrades are staff on-site during peak hours, surveillance video cameras, lighting in the parking lot and emergency phones.

A few folks posted photos from the park:

Chain of Rocks Park is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 30 minutes after sunset.

The 5,300-foot-long Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, built in 1929, contains a 22-degree bend in the middle.

The nearby New Chain of Rocks Bridge that carries Interstate 270 opened in 1966, and the older bridge closed four years later.

The bridge was used in a scene of 1983’s “Escape from New York” movie. It appeared the span would be demolished, but the costs of doing so were too prohibitive.

In 1998, Trailnet leased the bridge and spent $4.5 million to shore it up for cycling and pedestrian use.

(Image of the Chain of Rocks Park in St. Louis via Great Rivers Greenway)