After approximately a week and a half of travel along the Erie Canal, the Ralph Wilson Park Bridge arrived at its final destination in Buffalo, NY.
As the new signature 266-foot pedestrian bridge was being escorted through Freedom Park by the 1825 Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief replica, the Redheaded Piper played the bagpipes to announce the bridge's arrival at its new home.
Once through the Foot of Ferry, the bridge made its way to Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy, where it will look to be installed this fall.
"The delivery of this bridge is more than a physical structure that will stand across the 190," said President of the Ralph Wilson Jr., Foundation. "How cool is it that this is the largest load in the Erie Canal in the last 40 years? And that the bridge that's coming up the Erie Canal will span the 190 which was the Erie Canal?"
The Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy said that the bridge is a key feature of the community’s vision to transform Ralph Wilson Park into a world-class recreational destination. New sections of the park, including the bridge, will begin opening in 2026.
The design of the bridge was selected through a community-based design competition led by the University at Buffalo Regional Institute in early 2020. The bridge left the manufacturing site, Cimolai, in Italy in early June on a barge, traveled across the ocean, through the New York harbor, and now through the Erie Canal.
