Since Labor Day, the LED show on the Rock Island Swing Bridge has started at 5 p.m. instead of 7. That puts the first show of the evening close to dinnertime. A five-minute show runs every 15 minutes until 10 p.m., with steady colors in between, and it runs year-round. Shorter days also mean more people walking to the bridge in the dark. This month, the walk from the neighborhoods west of Concord Boulevard crosses an active Dakota County work zone.
That order reflects how the riverfront has come together. The pieces at the water came first: the bridge lights, then the playground beside it. The route across Concord is being built now, and the rules for the lights are still being written.
The water's edge was finished first
The bridge lighting project cost $562,500, and the Pioneer Press reported a lighting celebration scheduled for June 17, 2025. The paper described the bridge as a public pier, with interior lights and exterior floodlights that can each be programmed separately.
Exactly one year later, on June 17, 2026, the city opened the new inclusive playground and splash pad at Heritage Village Park, 4321 65th Street East. The playground design draws on the area's railroad history and on the bridge itself. The splash pad ran daily through August. The playground stays open year-round, so an October evening at the park still has something for kids before the first show starts.
The park's layout surprises some first-time visitors. Driving in, you reach the off-leash dog park and its parking lot first. The larger lot for the playground and splash pad is farther in, right next to them. The dog park is open year-round and has separate areas for large and small breeds. Annual passes cost $25 for a resident's first dog and $20 for a second. The city's park guide also lists trails and pier fishing at Heritage Village Park.
Two longtime businesses sit right next to the bridge. Mississippi Pub, at 4455 66th Street East, is listed as family-owned and operated since 1999. Jersey's Bar & Grill is a short way up the corridor at 6449 Concord Boulevard East. Dakota County lists the Swing Bridge Trailhead at 4465 66th Street East, so the pub, the trailhead and the park are within one short stretch.
The route there is the part under construction
Walking or biking from the west means crossing Concord Boulevard, which is Dakota County Road 56. County Project 56-14 is rebuilding the pedestrian and bike crossings on Concord between Highway 55 and Interstate 494, plus the Mississippi River Greenway segment between Cahill Avenue and 65th Street East. Minger Construction Companies of Jordan is the contractor.
The county's current schedule for October 9 through 17 lists concrete curb and gutter work at three spots: 65th Street East on the west side, and Harper Street and Darcy Lane/Inver Grove Trail on the east side. The county warns of lane closures and delays. The companion trail project, County Project 28-69, is grading the same week near a retaining wall at the northwest corner of 80th Street and Concord. It will add a paved trail on the north side of 80th Street East from Cahill Avenue to Concord.
The county's 2024 open house boards projected completion in fall 2025. Both project pages now list 2026 construction with no finish date, so it's unclear whether the work will wrap up before snow.
Here's what the county says the finished corridor will include, from its project FAQ:
- Nine raised crosswalks. Each is about 3 inches high, "the width of a credit card," and rises gradually so vehicles can drive over it. The ones on Concord's east side serve the Greenway directly.
- Right-turn lanes removed at 11 intersections. The county cites low recorded traffic and no documented crash history. Removing them shortens the walk across the road and frees space for wider boulevards or trail.
- Curb ramps, curb extensions, medians and rectangular rapid flashing beacons at the crossing locations.
The county's illustrations show a marked crossing and raised crosswalk at 66th Street, the street that leads to the bridge. At 70th Street they show a marked crossing and a median, and at 80th Street a raised crosswalk with truck aprons that large vehicles can drive over.
Why these twelve corners, and which two were left out
The county didn't spread the improvements evenly. It counted how many people crossed Concord on an average day at 16 locations. It then weighed lane counts, posted speed limits and traffic volumes, along with feedback residents gave in November 2022. Twelve locations made the list.
| Crossing locations on the county's board | Status |
|---|---|
| Healy Mobile Home crossing, Poplar Street, 65th Street | Selected |
| 66th Street, 68th Street/Dickman Trail, 70th Street | Selected |
| 75th Street, 78th Street, 80th Street | Selected |
| Darcy Lane, Delany Drive, Corcoran Path | Selected |
| Coffman Path, Cooper Path | Not selected |
The FAQ says Coffman and Cooper Paths weren't considered because of the road's size and posted speed limit at those points. At the July 31, 2024 open house, people living near those streets said losing an accessible crossing would mean longer trips out of their way. They asked for a separated crossing between the two. Other attendees worried that dropping the right-turn lanes could cause rear-end crashes, that drivers might miss the raised crossings, and that snow and ice would make the raised crossings harder to drive and maintain.
Earlier outreach recorded the problem the project is meant to fix. Residents said drivers didn't obey the speed limit and the road felt too dangerous to cross. Some said they avoided crossing altogether, and some pointed to poor sight lines near the curve and hill.
South of the bridge, the trail has its own October gaps
From the bridge, the Mississippi River Greenway runs north toward St. Paul and south toward Hastings, 28 miles in all. If you ride south from the Swing Bridge this month, the county lists two closures, current as of its October 9 trail conditions update.
| Segment | When | Detour |
|---|---|---|
| 100th Street E. to just south of 102nd Street E. | October 12 to 16, pavement work | Inver Grove Trail |
| Pine Bend Trailhead to 117th Street | Until repairs later in 2026 | None. The county reviewed traffic volumes on nearby roads and dropped the earlier temporary detour. |
The Pine Bend Bluffs Trailhead on 111th Street East is north of the long closure. The Minnesota DNR describes a hiking trail there that leads from the trailhead to an overlook above the Mississippi. Visitors can reach it from US 52 by way of 117th Street, Courthouse Boulevard and 111th Street, then park in the lot on the south side. North of the bridge, the closure between Grand Avenue and the Wakota Scenic Trailhead in South St. Paul is scheduled to run through October, with a detour on Hardman Avenue. We covered that stretch in our Kaposia Landing post.
The colors on the bridge are the last thing still undecided
The lights are installed, but what they display is still open. Each light can be adjusted down to the quarter inch, which makes the colors look like they're moving. City staff hope to eventually time the shows to music. According to the Star Tribune's April 28, 2026 report, the city has no formal policy yet, so the bridge has mostly run a preset program. There's one exception. A city official told the paper:
"The only time that is safe for us to not feel like we're offending somebody is Fourth of July week. We do red, white and blue."
At that spring meeting, city commissioners discussed themed displays for federal holidays and for days like Valentine's Day. They seemed to agree that IGH Days should count, and so should a pro sports championship. Some liked the idea of charging a fee for resident requests to fund a city scholarship program. The city is looking at Eagan's rules for Sperry Tower as a model. Eagan takes requests until March 1 for events in the next 12 months and rules out "overtly" religious, political, personal or commercial causes. The commission planned another work session before recommending a draft to the City Council toward the end of 2026. As of that report, the policy hadn't been adopted, and we haven't found a later update.
For now, the routine looks like this. The playground and dog park are open, the first show starts at 5 p.m., and the walk from the west may detour around fresh curb work at 65th Street or Harper Street through at least October 17. The bridge will still be running its preset program on the next holiday, unless the council acts on a policy first.
If you live near the Concord corridor and want to talk about how the new crossings, the trail work and the riverfront upgrades fit into your home's value, Huerkamp Home Group can walk you through the Inver Grove Heights market block by block. Get Your Free Market Valuation.
