River Torrens footbridge is 'instant heritage' after more than 170,000 people used it during the Ashes Test The Advertiser's Tait Schmaal was among the first people to shoe-test the new $40 million footbridge over the Torrens. THE State Government says its $40 million Riverbank footbridge has proved so popular it has become "instant heritage" after more than 170,000 people walked across it during the Ashes Test. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the instant success of the bridge had proved detractors, including the Liberal Party, wrong. "They haven't been proved wrong by the Government but by ordinary South Australians," he said. It's instant heritage. There were some reports of bottlenecks at peak times but Mr Koutsantonis said the bridge would be 2m wider when completed early next year and safety barriers removed. "People loved it so much we're giving them more space when it's finished," he said. Crowds walk across the new Torrens footbridge before the start of play. The 4000 English visitors for the Test match had poured $10 million into the economy "crying into their beers," Mr Koutsantonis said. Double that number of interstate and overseas visitors would come for the Rolling Stones concert at Adelaide Oval in March, he said. The oval isn't about football or cricket, it's about creating an economic asset. Manual counters were used to estimate the number of people who used the footbridge, which was closed today at 2pm after Australia won the Test by more than 200 runs. Lindsay Harris at the new kids' area on the Torrens Riverbank, near the new footbridge. The bridge will be completed and reopen in time for the 2014 AFL season.