Plans to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the opening of the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge are almost finalized, according to Ward 2 Councilwoman Susan Keith.

The celebration will be held Tuesday, June 30 at 5:30 p.m. at the Songs of Selma Park at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Even though the bridge turned 75-years-old May 24, Keith said the city still wanted to do something to celebrate it.

“We did not want to let the 75th diamond anniversary go by without some sort of recognition in this year of celebrations,” Keith said Friday.

The bridge was opened in 1940 and took the place of a two-lane wooden swing bridge that was manually operated.

Keith said the ceremony will be brief, lasting around an hour.

“It is just going to be a brief ceremony to celebrate the opening of the bridge and what the bridge means to Selma and the people of Dallas County,” Keith said. “It has opened up the city and serves as a gateway for other areas. It is a major thoroughfare, and it just means a lot for commerce.”

The bridge also means a lot to the city’s history. The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the backdrop of Bloody Sunday, where marchers were beaten, gassed and trampled by then Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark and his deputies, along with Alabama State Troopers.

The bridge’s 75th birthday falls in the same year of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the 150th Battle of Selma anniversary.

“We celebrated the golden anniversary of [Bloody Sunday], it was the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Selma, and it happens to be the diamond anniversary of the bridge,” Keith said. “It wouldn’t have been important if it was the 72nd anniversary or the 63rd anniversary. It just so happens that the anniversary fell the same year.”

Keith said the city wanted to plan a ceremony because several council members received calls about the anniversary.

“It was important to a lot of people who contacted me and some of the other folks in city government and on the city council,” Keith said. “It should be celebrated, and it will be.”

Keith said the only thing that needs to be finalized are the speakers who will speak briefly about the bridge.

“I am just waiting on confirmation for a couple of people, but we’ve pretty much got the program done,” Keith said. “We’re just going to have a couple of people making remarks. It is just a small recognition.”