The bridge over the Vermillion River gorge has been used as a crossing point of the river for generations. Originally built in 1868 as a train bridge then replaced in 1896, the bridge served as a connection to the eastern United States. After it was no longer needed as a train bridge, it was eventually converted into a pedestrian bridge sponsored by the Hastings Area Rotary Club and that is where the current popularity began.
The pedestrian bridge is part of the intricate trail system for Hastings with beautiful views of the Vermillion River Gorge from 95 feet above the water’s surface. Once the conversion to a pedestrian bridge was complete, someone placed a lock on the bridge, and Hastings’ version of the “Love Lock Bridge” was born. The original Love Lock Bridge is the Pont de Arts in Paris, France. The organic creation of Hastings own Love Lock Bridge initially saw 400-600 locks on it according to Parks Maintenance Manager Cory Likes.
“It started fairly small, and suddenly ballooned to several thousand locks,” said Likes. “It really has become a destination for people to visit and put their own locks on.”
Likes pointed out that the bridge was not initially designed to be used in this fashion, but he enjoys the emotion behind what the bridge has become.
“The locks are special, we know there are so many different stories behind why people put their locks on the bridge. We don’t know the specifics, many are there because of a special relationship between two people, some may be there as a remembrance, but the truth is, we don’t really know all the reasons. What we do know is, each lock has its own story, each lock holds its own meaning to the owner, and that is important,” he explained.
One thing he has not had worries about is the added weight of the locks.
“Each lock does add weight to the bridge, but the only really worry I have is, can the mesh of the fence support the weight. So, far, when the mesh is left alone, it seems to be fine,” he added.
That is what brings about this story, the mesh was not left alone and thus, has been severely compromised. So severely, that a large section, roughly 30 feet, needed to be replaced recently.
“Not only do we not know the story of why the lock is on the bridge, we also don’t know why the locks are removed sometimes,” Likes said about the current state of the fence mesh.
The issue is, when people remove the locks, they are cutting into the mesh of the fence rather than cutting the lock itself or using the key or combination to remove them. This is a major safety concern. Weakening the mesh is dangerous in many ways, of course, the worst would be if someone were to fall through the fence. The 95-foot drop and the limited access for emergency personnel make it even more precarious.
Several smaller sections of the bridge on both sides have been tampered with, but the section on the southeast side of the bridge was almost completely cut from top to bottom a few months ago.
“We were forced to do some pretty heavy band aide type repairs on the southeast side of the bridge,” said Likes. “We had to patch it together the best we could for safety because that fence is not a standard height.”
The fence is 54 inches tall, most chain link fences are three to four feet and from there, they go up in one-foot increments. With this being a special height, custom manufacturing process needed to take place for new mesh, that made the replacement piece take over two months.
With the chain link in the possession of the fencing company, work to repair the bridge took place on Monday, June 8. The repair was expected to replace an estimated four sections of the safety fence, which includes a lot of locks. Without measuring, each section looks to be eight to ten feet long.
“Unfortunately, we had to pull a lot of the mesh down to replace it properly to ensure the safety of folks who use the bridge,” said Likes. “That also means we had to pull all the locks down with those sections.”
He paused for a moment to reflect on his previous statement respecting the thousands of personal stories behind the locks.
“I… I get it…” he said with emotion behind it. “These locks… they are special... The last thing we want to do is dispose of them. We want the owners to have the opportunity to claim them. Then they can do with them what they feel is the right thing to do. They are welcome to put them back up or keep them, but we will NOT be disposing them for a while.”
The trick is, he explained, is what is the right way to have people get their locks back. That process has not been decided yet, but the opportunities will be made available soon. Ideas being discussed are keeping the fence inside the parks garage and people can visit parks during regular hours to have access to the locks. Another option is to have the fence outside somewhere so people can visit whenever it is convenient for them, but the lock owner would be responsible for bringing their own method to cut the lock free.
Whatever is decided that information will be released in a future update in the Hastings Journal and on the City of Hastings Facebook page.
“The bottom line is, we know these locks are important to people and we want to get them back to the rightful owners. We’ll for sure hang on to them until the start of fall to give folks time to come pick them up. For right now, a person looking for their lock can contact the Parks Department during normal business hours to arrange that pick up,” said Likes.
Parks can be reached at 651-480-6175.