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The blue ribbon strung across the new Terwillegar Park Footbridge had not even been cut when a party of eager hikers crossed from the other end to watch the grand opening Friday.

“It’s going to open up a whole area,” said one of the trail walkers, Cathy Johnson, motioning to the south side of the river valley where the now more-accessible Terwillegar Park sprawls.

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“It’s awesome for biking. I can bike from Blue Quill, I can bike all the way to Terwillegar, all the way around and back again,” said Nancy Ryks. “It extends the use of the river valley and makes your options greater.”

Dignitaries officially opened the $24.5-million footbridge in southwest Edmonton more than two years after construction began in August 2014.

The ceremony also celebrated the completion of the $3.5-million West End Trails — five kilometres of paved and gravel paths linking Terwillegar Park to the Fort Edmonton Footbridge and to the Anthony Henday pedestrian river crossing.