'Aina Haina — When parents gather today at tiny Wailupe Valley Elementary School for the annual open house, they'll be treated at long last to a special debut of the pedestrian bridge that links the school to an adjacent community park.

For the past four years the community has made the bridge its No. 1 priority. Problems with liability concerns, expense and jurisdiction plagued the bridge that was supposed to be a part of the school's plan since it was built four decades ago. A lack of money kept the project at bay until former Mayor Jeremy Harris' vision team program came about and gave the community the money to build it.

The bridge will enable students to use the park for physical-education classes and May Day celebrations, and offers a safe meeting place in case of emergency, said Jean Hartmann, Wailupe Valley Elementary School principal.

It cost taxpayers more than $300,000 to build the bridge that connects the school to the city park. The project is a testament to the people who worked on getting the steel pedestrian bridge over a dry stream bed called Kului Gulch, Hartmann said.

"It's been a long time coming," said Tim McGivern, a parent and former chairman of Wailupe Valley Elementary's School/Community-Based Management council. "Isn't it pretty?"

The bridge is brown, with dark green plastic-coated chainlink and is connected by a long paved walkway from the school's campus to the park. During construction, workers had to clear out dense haole koa plants and move huge boulders out of the way. The bridge came in two sections and was assembled across the stream with the help of a large crane, Hartmann said.

The school is next to a ridge and its sloping grounds are unsuitable for athletic fields or playgrounds. Whenever students went to the park, they were required to get parents to sign consent forms because it was considered a field trip.

The new bridge is not technically open yet, but will be a highlight of today's open house, Hartmann said. The former principal, Wendy Yoshimoto, and former state Rep. Bertha Leong will be on hand for the event.

Leong was the bridge's chief champion and donated money to the cause, Hartmann said.

The 'Aina Haina Neighborhood Board voted to recommend that the bridge be named the Bertha Leong Bridge, said board chairman Bob Chuck.

"She has done so much for our school," Hartmann said.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.