TOWNSEND, Tenn. — One of the iconic landmarks along the Little River in Townsend reopened to the public Thursday.
Crews from the Blount County Highway Department repaired and reopened the Dark Island Swinging Bridge. Townsend Police boarded it up last month.
The popular bridge only needed minor repairs but Blount County said it wanted to research exactly who owns the bridge before it paid to fix it.
Last week, the Blount County Commission decided the county would pay to reopen the bridge.
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Where the Little River flows out of the Great Smoky Mountains in Blount County, the water serves as the city limits for Townsend. The south bank is in the city while residents on the north bank live in the county.
The neighborhoods across from each other on the river share an iconic connection. Swinging bridges have spanned the Little River for more than a century and linked the city and county neighborhoods.
Since May 28, the Dark Island Swinging Bridge has represented a divide between the city and county. The Townsend Police Department boarded up the entrances, announced on Facebook the bridge was unsafe and said it would remain closed until the Blount County government decides its "next course of action."