Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Kinzua Bridge has risen from neglect and from the impact of a tornado 15 years ago to become an international attraction.

It was a rough day 15 years ago, when the hopes and dreams of so many people tumbled to the floor of the Kinzua Gorge alongside 11 towers of the Kinzua Viaduct.

It was July 21, 2003. A crew with W.M. Brode Construction out of Ohio had been working since February renovating the century-old Kinzua Viaduct. The weather was poor, and the crew had left the towers because the rust-proof paint they were using was not drying in the rain.

They were getting ready to leave for the day shortly after 3 p.m. when the wind picked up. Trees started falling, blocking the escape from the park. The men took cover, and heard several loud booms.

“It appears as though a high gust of wind or a tornado has hit,” Steven Brode of W.M. Brode confirmed to The Era that afternoon.

The news was met by disbelief, shock, sadness. “After everything that’s been done and all the money that’s been spent… we were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, at the time.

She and the Kinzua Bridge Foundation had been advocating for the structure’s rehabilitation for years. In June 2002, the state Department of Conservation and National Resources closed the viaduct to the Knox and Kinzua excursion train because of concerns over the structure’s deterioration. After a thorough inspection, DCNR engineers realized the damage was too extensive and closed it to pedestrians in August 2002.

The DCNR had brought the Brode crew in for the rehabilitation work in hopes to restore the viaduct to its former glory.

The F1 tornado that swept through the valley that day changed the course of history. The park’s popularity had waned when the excursion train could no longer travel the rails, and waned further when the bridge was closed completely.

Looking back, Devlin said the visitors bureau had been working to get state funding for restoration of the state-owned property since Gov. Tom Ridge was in office. After 9/11, Ridge was named to a national post and Mark Schweiker became governor.

“We finally had the ear of a historic preservationist who believed in protecting and saving our history,” Devlin said. “A funding allocation to preserve and repair the viaduct was authorized. All levels of government — state, county and local — were on the same page.

“The actual engineering and restoration work was funded and underway,” she explained. “In addition, the Kinzua Byway was designated Pennsylvania’s first scenic byway, and plans were underway for a park ‘discovery center’ after the repairs to the viaduct were completed.”

She continued, “We were super excited. The ANF Visitors Bureau wanted to document this important step, we thought we had a ‘Disney Story’ with a happy ending. Working with multiple agencies, we were able to raise the funds necessary to produce a documentary to tell the story of the successful renovation of the viaduct — a National Historic and National Engineering Landmark — The Tracks Across the Sky. We were up the park on July 20 to start filming for the documentary.”

But then nature interfered.

“The day the tornado hit, my film crew was here, and suddenly we had a disaster film on our hands. I remember getting a phone call from The Bradford Era the day of the tornado, I thought it was a call to check on the progress — instead it was a call to ask about the tornado damage. I physically felt someone had punched me, if I hadn’t had a chair close by, I would have been on the floor.”

The next day, DCNR officials, Devlin and members of the media went to the park and walked out on the six remaining towers on the park-side of the viaduct.

“It was surreal. The sky was still grey, the crews had to use a chainsaw to clear the way to the viaduct,” Devlin remembered “The sky was heavy with steam rising from the floor of the gorge, it was as if the life force of the structure was disappearing into the air.

“We walked out on the viaduct, to tower six — now the end of the structure, the huge steel rails were dangling off the edge swinging in the wind. Eleven of the towers were twisted and thrown around like some giant had reached a hand down and thrown tinker toys around. The trees on the far side of the gorge were sheared off, as were the trees to the left side of the structure.”

Terry Brady, press secretary for the DCNR, shared memories of that visit, too. He flew in with a group of engineers and officials from the DCNR. “The plane had difficulty landing,” he said. “It was a very rocky flight. The pilot went up over the park. I remember looking down and seeing the bridge. It looked like a steamroller had gone through.

“The rails just dropped down like a waterfall,” Brady said. Describing how the bridge gave way, he said, “The center started to roll back like a slinky going down steps.”

Devlin said three wind sources converged in the middle of the gorge, and if repairs hadn’t been completed on nine of the towers already, the whole structure would have gone down.

“Our office received thousands of emails from around the world,” she added, “our server crashed.”

McKean County’s only state park had the world’s attention, but it was an arduous journey to save it.

Devlin said then-Gov. Ed Rendell wanted to close the park.

“I worked with Deb Lunden, McKean County Planner, and a member of the Kinzua Bridge Foundation to collect signatures to ‘save the bridge.’ We went to Harrisburg and presented four, four-inch binders full of signatures from Pennsylvania residents, and from around the world, all wanting the structure remaining to be saved and for the park to remain open,” Devlin said.

“Working with the McKean County commissioners, who provided funding, we commissioned a consulting firm to do a master plan for the park,” Devlin said. “These plans included the Kinzua Sky Walk, the Kinzua Discovery Center, and explored the ideas of future development, such as a zip line across the gorge.

“We had the vision, our projection showed with the correct reinvention and marketing, visitation would grow to 300,000 a year, generating over $14 million a year in tourism spending in McKean County,” she explained.

Several years and multiple visits to Harrisburg later, the group working to save the park was gaining ground.

“We found our ‘white knight’ with Senator Joe Scarnati,” Devlin said. “ if we hadn’t had his support in keeping this project front and center, it would have never happened. All the previous funds for restoration and the Discovery Center had been taken off the table. DCNR Secretary Michael DiBerardinis came on board, Rep. Marty Causer requested funds for the welcome center in the capital budget, and local state employees came on board.”

And then came the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Although not the original dream, the amazing re-birth of the Kinzua viaduct transforming into the Kinzua Sky Walk is a dream come true,” Devlin said. “The visitation numbers are growing every year, and we will hit the original projection of 300,000 a year soon, and the economic impact is being felt throughout the county.”

The park’s visitor center is drawing large crowds from all around the world.

Park Manager Mitch Stickle, a native of McKean County, said the park just had its first visitor from Zimbabwe.

“From January to June, our front door counter had 69,141,” he said. Fewer people ventured out onto the skywalk, as that number was 52,375.

“From January to June, we were missing one state” as a state of origin for visitors, Stickle said. “Since then it’s been represented three times. And these are just with people who sign the guest book.”

He talked about the rave reviews the park gets from visitors — and not just adults.

“I’ve seen grandparents taking kids out of here kicking and screaming — they don’t want to leave,” he said with a laugh.

Stickle said the DCNR anticipates the park becoming a destination for hikers as well.

Devlin explained, “The opening of the first section of the Knox and Kane Rail Trail later this year, with the Kinzua Sky Walk as the destination at the end of the trail, is another example of the innovation and tenacity of this regions ability to reinvent itself in a positive way.”