Completed in 1911, the grand triple-arched Monroe Street Bridge became a symbol of Spokane and reflected the pride, ambition, and nostalgia of a booming western city. Planning for the new bridge began in 1909, when city officials, after considerable debate, chose concrete as the material. City engineer J.C. Ralston designed the bridge and later supervised its construction. Unlike earlier bridges at this site, it featured a central arch that completely spanned the Spokane River, eliminating the need for a central supporting pier. Building it was difficult and ambitious: laborers hired by the city dangled above the rapids on towers and cables as they demolished the old steel bridge and built cribbing for the new one. Soon after demolition began, fill on the south bank failed, causing a large section of the old bridge to collapse, and later a violent windstorm destroyed weeks of labor on the central arch. Despite these setbacks, the bridge was completed and dedicated in 1911. At the time, its 281-foot central arch was the third longest unsupported concrete arch in the world, and the structure was regarded as one of the few concrete bridges of its kind in the United States.