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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge Celebration
 City holds ceremony to dedicate Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge, Monument
On Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008, the City of Roanoke held a Ribbon-Cutting and Monument Unveiling Ceremony for the new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge and the sculpture of Dr. King that stands at its northern end. Honored guests at this event included state officials, Mayor Nelson Harris, members of City Council, and other city officials, along with representatives of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the NAACP. The general public was also invited to take part.
As a prelude to the official program, special guests and Roanoke citizens gathered at First Baptist Church on Wells Avenue in Historic Gainsboro at 11 a.m., to march across the Gainsboro Road bridge, then east on Salem Avenue to the southern gateway of the newly restored King Memorial Bridge. The ribbon cutting took place at this gateway, after which the march continued to the site of the monument unveiling. This procession was a tribute to the long march toward progress in the struggle for civil rights which Dr. King championed.
This ceremony marked the culmination of much discussion and planning involving community representatives, city staff and council members for how the city could best honor the late civil rights leader. The renovation and renaming of the First Street (Henry Street) bridge was a fitting symbol for Dr. King’s lifelong struggle to bridge the social divide created by racial segregation in this country. Contractors and city crews spent last summer and fall performing extensive repairs to the bridge. Work was completed in November 2007.
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