IRON MOUNTAIN -- The US-141 bridge connecting Breitung Township and Niagara, Wisconsin was opened to traffic Friday for the first time in eleven months. It was an emotional ceremony to commemorate the opening of the new US-141 bridge.
The bridge will now be known as the Veteran's Memorial Bridge in honor of those who have served in upper Michigan and Wisconsin.
"Our veterans have fought to end the scourge of slavery, battled in Europe and Japan to stop the armies of darkness from marching over the planet," said Dan Benishek.
The bridge itself took 11 months to complete. It's 20 feet wider than it used to be, and the total cost of the project was $5.6 million.
"It doesn't matter if it's Wisconsin, Michigan, Democrat or Republican, everybody works together for a common cause, and the veterans are a fantastic group; we owe everything to them," said Rob Langsford.
Because of the slow process of politics, this bridge dedication almost didn't happen. The last bill to make this a reality didn't get signed until Tuesday.
Businesses in Niagara should see a boost in sales because of the now direct route from Iron Mountain.
But today was mostly about the veterans and what they sacrificed for our country.
“Today we stop and remember that without this country’s veterans, many dead and many alive, there would be no America,” Benishek said.
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