For the last couple of years if my wife and I were in Louisville we have made it a point to walk on the new pedestrian/bicycle bridge over the Ohio River which is part of the riverfront park system just east of downtown. It is truly a wonderful attraction for a nice town and someone who likes history, scenery, railroads, or walking.

The Big Four Railroad Bridge which was owned by the New York Central Railroad connects Louisville, KY and Jeffersonville, IN and was completed in 1895 and updated in 1929. Forty two men lost their lives in the original construction.  It is a six span through truss bridge type. The spans total 2,545 ft with a clearance of 53 ft and rests on 7 attractive and strong stone piers.

The original bridge had one standard gauge track along with a narrower interurban track between the standard gauge track. Also, two pedestrian walkways were included. The bridge was almost 11,000 ft long with the approach ramps.

In the 1920’s as trains became much heavier, it was decided to rebuild the bridge. A very novel plan was made to build the new bridge entirely within the old bridge while using the existing stone piers. When the new bridge was finished the old bridge works were removed. This plan cut about 2-3 years of work and the new bridge was finished in one year.

Interurban service lasted until 1939 and with the coming of the Penn Central merger the bridge was abandoned in 1969. The approaches were removed in 1974. For a while the bridge came to be known as the bridge to nowhere. Many people organized and promoted the idea of a pedestrian and bicycle conversion for the bridge and this opened in 2013 with a spiral ramp on the Kentucky side and a ramp stairway on the Indiana side in 2014. A total of 326 precast concrete panels make up the desk’s surface and lights and safety railings where added. The adjoining parks contain nice walkways, gardens, trees, and are well patrolled.

I encourage everyone to walk or bicycle this truly beautiful piece of history. The views are spectacular especially when large ships are passing beneath the structure or when the city skyline is lit up at night. We saw a lovely sunset recently and also passed beneath the bridge on a riverboat and enjoyed a fine dinner aboard the boat. The Belle of Louisville and the City of Jeffersonville are gorgeous examples of old riverboats. At night the bridge is lit up with thousands of lights that constantly change colors from red to blue, yellow, green, orange, etc.