Letter To The Editor: Reuse One 41 Bridge For Pedestrians

Reuse One 41 Bridge For Pedestrians

written by Jordan Baer-Evansville

A few weeks ago, I attended an open forum hosted by the I-69 Ohio River Crossing organization. With Loyola being one of the biggest games on the UE schedule and set to tip off within an hour of the forum, I was surprised to see the number of residents at the event. This wasn’t my only surprise.

Prior to the forum, I had submitted pages and pages of reasons for why one of the 41 bridges, preferably the northbound bridge, should be reused for pedestrians and cyclists. Despite this, the current plan calls for the demolition of the southbound 41 bridge which ironically has been closed lately for renovations. I cannot place the blame on the organization leading this project for the current proposal when they have heard from next to no officials, leaders, or organizations on either side of the river demanding this project be done right.

I find it to be nothing short of mind-boggling to see the lack of local representation from local leadership that pedestrians, cyclists, preservationists, and many other groups received at this event and during the whole process of building a new interstate bridge over the Ohio River. And it’s not just one group or government official, nor is it just one side of the river or the other. Everyone who has the opportunity to have an impact on public policy should speak up from here on out.

While there has been a very little outcry for one of the bridges to be pedestrian-only, there has been plenty of opposition to tolling and closing one of the 41 bridges to auto only service. This is just as mind-boggling as the lack of support for a pedestrian-only 41 bridge. The data collected by the project team proved there is no market demand for three auto only bridges. And even with the new I-69 bridge and possibly one 41 bridge being tolled, there will still need to be $750 million to $1 billion in additional public funding to make this project a reality.

The project team estimates that demolishing the southbound bridge will save $145 million from now until the year 2062. Even though this cost is stretched out over many decades and a thimble compared to the $1.5 billion needed for the whole project, this figure is also a little misleading since it was calculated under the premise of the bridge being used for auto traffic not pedestrian. Costs for using the bridge for pedestrian use only are much lower but no study has been done since there has been no request from local leaders. Furthermore, auto traffic should be placed on the southbound bridge since it’s a younger bridge while the northbound bridge is the most historic and fitting for pedestrian use.

A fair amount of the project team worked on Louisville’s project that built two new auto bridges a few years ago. Despite the capacity being dramatically increased, usage has declined. Next to one of those bridges is the Big Four pedestrian bridge. In the 1970s, Thomas McAdam condemned it and requested it is demolished on behalf of the City of Louisville. Back in 2013, the bridge opened up for pedestrian use and McAdam wrote an article titled “Glad I didn’t tear down the Big Four.” Although the 41 bridges are not in downtown like the Big Four, they are far from a bridge to nowhere. They have the potential to connect Audubon State with Eagle Slough and eventually Evansville’s Hi-Rail Trail and Greenway providing a connection to all parts of town.

There will be two Community Conversations this week and hopefully many more. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for both sides of the river to show up and demand a pedestrian bridge study. This is a once in a lifetime project. If done wrong there will be no more opportunities. Let’s make sure it’s done right.

Sincerely,

Jordan Baer-Evansville

JordanBaer1@gmail.com