The bridge is 275 feet (84 m) long, and is built out of a combination of riveted iron work and cabling.

Its deck is made of wood, and its sides have been protected by modern chain link fencing.

It rests on abutments fashioned out of roughly quarried local granite.

[2] The bridge was built in 1889, at a time when it was common to travel by foot from the city's residential area on the north side of the river, to its industrial, commercial and civic facilities on the south side.

The bridge underwent a major restoration in 1975, at which time the chain link fencing was installed.