A new bridge with Estonia's longest span was completed in two years and officially opened Saturday in Pärnu.

The opening ceremony drew a large crowd. After the ribbon was cut, the bridge was first blessed by a cat named Hugo, followed by a rescue vehicle to test its load-bearing capacity. Once that was done, children were invited to run across the long-awaited bridge.

"I'm pleased that this dream, which people in Pärnu have been talking about for 30 years or more, is finally a reality," said Pärnu Mayor Romek Krosenkranius. "And of course I'm glad that despite all the setbacks and difficulties, we've reached this point and the new bridge is complete."

The bridge is 263 meters long and nearly 20 meters wide. Robert Sinikas, a board member of INF Infra and the project's lead engineer, said the most challenging part was positioning the bridge's arch.

"We carried out one of the most complex bridge assemblies in the Baltics in decades. The assembly took four days last August," Sinikas said. "Nothing this complicated has ever been done in Estonia before."

"Today, we're opening Estonia's longest bridge span — 140 meters," he added.

Residents have been waiting decades for the new bridge. On Saturday, it was open only to pedestrians and cyclists; cars will be allowed to use it starting Sunday.

"Crossing the bridge feels historic," said Karin, a resident of Vana-Pärnu. "It's important for traffic and safety."

"This bridge means a lot to us — we've been waiting so long," said Annika and Amanda from Ülejõe.

Connecting the Rääma district with the city center, the new bridge significantly reshapes the cityscape, creating an entirely new traffic corridor.

"Now it's only three kilometers from Ehitajate tee to the beach, and in terms of urban planning, that's a major shift," Krosenkranius noted.

Construction of the bridge cost over €28 million, with another €12 million spent on connecting roads.

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