Hours before the first vehicle crossed, hundreds of people took a walking tour of the newly opened Niles Main Street Bridge Thursday afternoon, touching the arched railings and taking in the view of the St. Joseph River from the bridge’s many lookouts.

Longtime Niles resident Marie Dorrier was so excited about the opening that she invited her entire family, from children, to grandchildren and on down the family line.

“I didn’t want to miss it so I wanted the kids to come with me,” she said. “I love it. It is awesome, it is picturesque. It brings something neat to this town and adds to the beauty of the [Riverfront] Park.”

The Niles High School band played Christmas music as people traversed the sidewalks that are much wider than the ones on the bridge that it replaced and took the winding path down to the trail that runs along the river.

Niles native Lisa Grant said the bridge is something the city can be proud of.

“They did a really nice job — it’s beautiful,’” Grant said.

The Michigan Department of Transportation led project cost $10.6 million and took more than a year to complete.

Work to begin demolition of the old bridge, which stood for more than 90 years, began in October of 2014.

Despite minor delays due to utility work and weather, the bridge opened just a month behind the original schedule and stayed on budget, according to MDOT officials.

Niles residents had a say in its design, voting in 2013 to have the arched railing installed to resemble the bowstring bridge that spanned the river from 1868 to 1919.

City Administrator Ric Huff praised MDOT for allowing Niles residents to have input on the project.

“This is pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s been about 100 years since the last one was built so hopefully this will do something for the community for the next 100 years.

“I am hoping with the nice wide roadways, the architectural design, the large sidewalks that we will get people to start flowing into this side of town.”

Niles Main Street Program Manager Lisa Croteau praised the design as well.

“It is modern, but it still has that hint of the past,” she said. “I love the bump outs. They are large and wonderful and give a beautiful view of the river. The sidewalks are wide enough now that you don’t feel like you are going to fall into traffic.”

Although the bridge is open, MDOT said there remains some restoration and landscaping work to be done next spring. That work is not expected to interfere with traffic.