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LITTLE ROCK—A railroad bridge that was built in 1884 but has sat unused for more than two decades is to start a new role Saturday as a pedestrian bridge.

The Junction Bridge, which spans the Arkansas River, will link the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock. The structure will provide a way for people to move between attractions in the two cities and will serve as a destination itself.

On the south side, the bridge leads to Little Rock’s Riverfront Amphitheater and its surrounding park. The bridge also meets the shore where the “petit roche,” for which Little Rock was named, protrudes from the bank. Organizers say more of the rock will be excavated later, work that will close the south-side access to the bridge while an extension bridge and landscaping are completed.

On the North Little Rock side, the bridge is about a block from the lawn of Alltel Arena and about three blocks from Dickey-Stephens Park, the new baseball stadium where the Arkansas Travelers play.

Instead of cutting a ribbon, officials on Saturday are to bring the ends of two ribbons together and tie them in a bow, to symbolize the bridge creating a new link between Little Rock and North Little Rock.

The bridge is a lift span, and its central segment will remain in the up position.

As part of the $5.8 million spent to convert the bridge to a pedestrian span, the bridge now has elevators on both ends of the lift span, ramps and hand rails. The bridge can accommodate walkers, bicyclists and the handicapped.

The opening ceremony is set for 10:30 a.m.

Organizers say the bridge will be available for special events and that merchants could even set up shop on the bridge at some point.

The bridge, which was last used in 1985, was built by the Choctaw and Memphis Railroad and had been operated by Union Pacific Railroad. The lift span was designed to rise 32 feet so river traffic could pass below. The lift portion, 360 feet long, was raised to 38 feet for the project.

Regional planners have been working to develop the downtown area where six bridges span the river. The bridges include the Baring Cross Bridge, Broadway Bridge, Main Street Bridge, Junction Bridge, I-30 Bridge and Rock Island Bridge, the south end of which is on the Clinton Presidential Library site. The Junction Bridge is the fifth component of the project.

The federal government paid 80 percent of the cost for the Junction Bridge, with the remainder of the money coming from Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County.

There is also a pedestrian-only bridge a few miles upriver, the Big Dam Bridge at Murray Lock and Dam.