[4] For mules, horses and goods crossing the bridge, there was a toll of 30 silver marks, which the bishop appropriated until the debt to the Jews of Basel was paid off.

[5] The bridge gave the city a tremendous economic boost, and following its construction, the villages of Niederbasel and Oberbasel formed the fortified town of Kleinbasel on the eastern banks of the Rhine.

The construction was undertaken by Albert Buss & Cie. from Pratteln and Philipp Holzmann from Frankfurt am Main, and cost 2.67 million Francs.

The bridge has been closed to private motor vehicles as part of the car free city centre since the start of 2015.

The piece has no relation to its current location and is purely considered a public art installation, sometimes mockingly referred to as Street furniture.

[11] The sculpture Helvetia auf der Reise by Bettina Eichin was originally a 1980 entry in the Kunstkredit, an art competition in Basel.

The tablet mounted on the wall next to the figure reads "One day, Helvetia leaves the two franc coin, walks among the people, and embarks upon a long journey.

After a tiring walk through the city, she takes her coat off, lays down her suitcase and her spear and shield, and rests upon a pier on the Middle Bridge, looking thoughtfully up the Rhine…"[12] Bettina Eichin, whose art has always been politically conscious, said in an interview in 2010 "With the Helvetia allegory, I wanted to make the Helvetia allegory on our coins a woman again, to lift her from her embossing, for her to free herself - exactly how we women did.

[…] She steps out from the embossing of the coin - from money, goes on her way and rests upon her pedestal, tired, thoughtful, and distant - qualities that are not valued in women.

It is located by the first pier of the bridge on the new town side, and depicts the 3 symbols of the Ehrengesellschafts, the Vogel Gryff, the Wild Maa, and the Leu, lying alongside each other on a catafalque.