WAVERLY, Iowa — Waverly residents gathered in the cold on Thursday to celebrate the official ribbon-cutting for the new Bremer Avenue Bridge. The bridge had opened to traffic on November 26, a few days ahead of schedule, after being closed for replacement last year.

During the construction, many found it challenging to navigate downtown, but local business owners are seeing a resurgence in foot traffic now that the bridge is open.

"100% improvement because we all struggled on Main Street up and down with traffic. People did come to us, but it was an effort and now it's just happening again like it did before," said Deb Mummelthei, owner of Love and Lace.

The reopening comes at an opportune time, coinciding with the holiday season, which is expected to draw even more visitors downtown. C

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