New Bowley Bridge Rededicated Saturday at Mill Pond Park

Residents of Saline are invited to attend the rededication of the rebuilt Bowley Bridge at . The ceremony takes place at 2 p.m. Saturday.

“The bridge was named for Arthur Bowley, longtime Mayor of Brecon, Wales and one of the real pioneers of our sister city relationship,” said Donald Shelton, the former Saline Mayor who is now Chief Judge in the Washtenaw Trial Court in Ann Arbor.

In 1996, Saline and Brecon celebrated the 30^th anniversary of their twin city relationship with the first Celtic Festival and by dedicating the Mill Pond Park pedestrian bridge as the Arthur T. Bowley Friendship Bridge. The dedication was consummated when Brecon Mayor Tony Bufton and Saline Mayor Pat Little poured Welsh and Michigan water through a sieve held by Bowley and into the Saline River. Bowley died in 2008.

City officials will reenact the ceremony Saturday. A new plaque honoring Bowley will be placed on the bridge during the ceremony.

The original wooden bridge was damaged during a flood and has been .

The cost of installing the $12,900 bridge was $158,163. A Michigan Department of Environmental Quality waterfront redevelopment grant worth $103,606 funded most of the project. The balance was funded by the general fund and tax increment financing authority money.

To learn more about Arthur Bowley, visit this page on the Saline District Library’s website.