The path leading up to the Rotary Centennial Bridge was lined with vehicles early Thursday evening, as people gathered at the foot of the bridge for its long-awaited opening ceremony.

Pipers from the Midnight Sun Pipe Band serenaded the gathering crowd that circled around the podium.

'Grand Opening: The circle is complete,' read a banner hanging over the bridge, flanked by pink and blue balloons.

'It's great when you have a project like this, when the genesis is the community,' Yukon MP Larry Bagnell said in his opening speech.

'(The bridge) adds more access to all sorts of people and vehicles to this beautiful river that runs through our homeland.'

Accessibility is a topic that surfaced many times over the course of the ceremony, and in the weeks leading up to the bridge's opening.

Greater access to the Yukon River and to the Millennium Trail was cause for celebration, while the lack of accessibility for those with disabilities was cause of great disappointment.

Doug MacLean, president of the Riverdale Community Association, began his speech by bridging the two aspects of accessibility.

'We are pleased with the decisions that were made this week by city council to make the bridge more accessible,' he said. 'As Yukoners, we know we accomplish much more when we work together.'

MacLean congratulated the Yukon Council on Disability for its bravery and courage in coming forward with their concerns about the bridge.

'We are all better off for their participation,' he said.

Jon Breen, the council's former executive director, was present at the ceremony, although he did not walk across the bridge.

'All of us came to the ceremony,' he said. 'But I'm not willing to walk across the bridge at this point, at the opening ceremony.'

He is waiting to hear back from council on what options are available to make the bridge accessible to all.

'My main concern is that it opens up the whole issue, the whole dilemma, of, Look, we'd like to help you but we just can't,'' he said, referring to the costs that may be associated with retrofitting the bridge for accessibility.

Rick Goodfellow, who is permanently in a wheelchair, did part of the Millennium Trail, then attempted the bridge. While he says he is in better physical condition than many people in wheelchairs are, he had to stop twice to make it across.

'It's really about universal access,' he said after crossing the bridge last night. 'Not just for people in wheelchairs, but for Mom with a stroller or Grandma with a walker.'

There were smiles on most faces though, and a sense of excitement in the air.

Doug Hnatiuk, the city's parks and arenas supervisor, hosted the ceremony, which began with a speech from Kwanlin Dun First Nation councillor Jessie Dawson.

She welcomed the attendees to the first nation's traditional homeland.

'The main form of transport was the river and on trails, our people used to travel by foot,' she said. 'We are known as the people of the river and we join two sides of the river.'

'This is why we are here today to open the Centennial Bridge,' Dawson said.

The theme of joining together, of partnership in the community was strong throughout the opening speeches.

Mayor Ernie Bourassa congratulated residents and community groups who donated time and money to the endeavour.

'This bridge is a truly remarkable example of community collaboration,' he said. 'It will be, in my estimation, one of the most visited attractions in the coming years.'

Dennis (Skip) Cook, governor of the Rotary Club district of which the Yukon is a part, travelled from Fairbanks for the opening of the bridge.

He called it impressive, and underlined the importance of partnership within a community and internationally. The bridge is symbolic, he said, of completing the circle of the project.

'The human spirit likes to forge forward,' he said. 'It's nice to form a loop rather than having to backtrack.'

As walkers, bikers, skateboarders and all those exploring the Millennium Trail will now be able to complete the loop, rather than repeating the same stretch twice, some hope it will encourage residents to incorporate the outdoors into their daily lives.

'The bridge is something many Yukoners, including myself, have been looking forward to for a long time,' said Hector Campbell, a representative from major funding partner Yukon Energy

'It will give people where I work ... more of a reason to go outside and walk over the lunch hour.'

In a few weeks' time, he noted, people will be able to stand on the bridge and watch the chinook salmon swim up the river.

The presidents of the two Rotary Clubs in Whitehorse, Richard Buchan and Lois Craig, presented the mayor with a cheque for $35,000. They have raised over $85,000 for the project, which cost about $850,000.

Hnatiuk said after the ceremony he was very pleased with the turnout.

'It's great to see this long-time dream truly come to fruition,' he said. 'It is a labour of love that has lasted a number of years. The circle is complete.'

The ceremony also took on a circular form, the end mirroring the beginning.

Just moments before the ribbon was cut for the first official crossing of the bridge, Leonard Gordon, a Kwanlin Dun First Nation elder councillor, blessed the bridge.

'I pray that you bless this bridge for all first nations, for all people, for all walks of life,' Gordon said. 'For our children, because they are the leaders of tomorrow, and I want to see them grow up with something like this.'