It took crews less than two hours to install a new foot bridge at Elkin Municipal Park Wednesday and remove the old bridge from its place down river. The flurry of activity was the culmination of a joint restoration project with funding from a NCDOT enhancement grant, the Elkin City School system and private donors.

Work on the new bridge should be completed in a few weeks, according to Elkin Recreation and Parks Director, Brent Cornelison. "I'm anticipating another two weeks to finish building the ramps to it and rerouting the walking track," Cornelison said. "Then we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony and will dedicate the bridge to Dr. (Eldon) Parks who was very active in our town and school board."

The new bridge will be called the Eldon Parks Memorial Footbridge, and will be considered a part of the "Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail," an American Revolutionary War trail. The Wilkes-Surry branch begins in Elkin, the eastern most starting point and one of two mustering sites for the battle of King's Mountain, Cornelison said.

The original bridge, a memorial to WWII veterans, was closed several years ago, deemed hazardous by NCDOT. It was created in order to connect the two school campuses with the park. Cornelison said they originally intended to repair the old bridge, but when faced with the costs of refurbishing, decided to place a brand new bridge.

"We went from a rehabilitation project to a replacement project," Cornelison said. "We looked at the structural integrity and the costs of repair would have been exorbitant."

With a new bridge as part of the plan, grant requests were resubmitted to NCDOT and funding awarded. Cornelison said the process has taken a while due to the change in scope of the project.

"Stories of the origination of the bridge are confused," Cornelison said. "I've heard everything from delivered on a pick up to built by hand." Cornelison thought the bridge had been built around 1946, but said that it was not a part of the historic register of deeds.

Charles Wooten of East Bend purchased the bridge from the town of Elkin and is planning on setting it up to cross the narrow end of a lake on his farm property.

"I'm going to clean it, paint it and put it across the water," Wooten said. "I'll be able to walk across it and enjoy the view. The bridge was available and close enough to haul. It will be a novelty to have a bridge."

Wooten thought the bridge looked like it would not require to many repairs. He said that it looked to him like the supports were the real problem with it. Cornelison said that a flood did cause some damage to the bridge's support beams.

David Taylor of East Bend was helping Wooten move the bridge to his property by trailer. He said they planned to transport the bridge via N.C. 67. "It's a lot different from moving a cow down the road," Taylor said. "But after this turn out the park, it's a straight shot."