Photo: Minnesota Department of Transportation
A man was captured on camera climbing and walking over the Hastings U.S. 61 Bridge.
According to Twin Cities Pioneer Press, on Thursday (March 17), instead of using the normal walking deck, a man decided to climb and walk over the arch to get to the other side of the bridge.
Calls to authorities about the man on top of the arch were made around 3:45 p.m.
When the man made it safely over the arch, he was greeted by police.
"He didn't think it was a big deal at all," Dave Wilske, Hastings police deputy chief, said Friday. "He told our officer he used to be an ironworker and that he's used to working in situations like that. He just ran up onto it."
Wilske described the man to be in his 50s and said he was "very cooperative."
The man was not cited and let go. Wilske also told the news outlet that the man could have faced charges like trespassing on a critical public service structure or disorderly conduct.
Wilske warned that climbing on the bridge arch is extremely dangerous. "Obviously, we don't want any copycats out there that think that this is going to be OK," he noted
The Southeast Metro Fire Department tweeted out some photos from "MnDOT camera and a passerby."