A 54-year-old pedestrian bridge in Marine on St. Croix may be due for some maintenance, an issue that the City Council expects to take up at its August budget meeting.

Everything is on the table, from leaving the bridge as is to budgeting for repairs and maintenance. City leaders might even begin planning to replace the bridge, which was built in 1969.

Whatever the council decides, Council Member Charlie Anderson said regular inspections and some maintenance would be prudent. "What we need to do is make sure the bridge is safe," he said.

The six-foot-wide, 13-span timber trestle bridge — known locally as the Red Bridge — stretches 175 feet across a stream between Rose and Broadway streets, rising to 35 feet above the forest floor at its highest point.

Inspections in 2017 and 2022 found that while it was in generally fair condition, the bridge had some rotten deck boards and one column was sliding off its foundation.

Basic maintenance could cost up to $20,000 every five to seven years, while a more aggressive rehabilitation of the bridge could run as high as $85,000 and a replacement bridge could approach $400,000. If the city takes no action, annual safety inspections would cost an estimated $1,800.