As David Fisher walked alongside the McKinley Bridge Bikeway Saturday morning, he breathed in the warm air and savored a view of the Mississippi River and downtown.
"It is a joy," said Fisher, executive director of the Great Rivers Greenway District, which is developing the bike path and pedestrian walkway. "The symbolic thing is that it's reaching across the river - it really makes you understand the relationship between the river and the city."
The 14-foot-wide path is slated to open in September 2007, the same time that vehicular traffic resumes on the bridge. The path will connect St. Louis' Riverfront Trail to Metro East's Confluence Trail.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Illinois park officials toured the bridge Saturday morning.
"I'm looking forward to pulling out my bike, dusting it off and riding across this someday soon," Slay said, praising the project.