Deck is finally stacked: Last piece of Big Four falls into place

Clark County

Related Photos

The Big Four pedestrian bridge was open briefly Tuesday as the final concrete panel was installed on the deck. Staff photo by C.E. Branham
Construction workers who have installed all of the concrete decking on the Big Four Bridge, were invited to sign the last panel before it was installed Tuesday. Staff photo by C.E. Branham
View of Mulberry St. in downtown Jeffersonville from the deck of the Big Four Bridge. Staff photo by C.E. Branham
Looking west onto Riverside Dr. from the deck of the Big Four Bridge. Staff photo by C.E. Branham
Looking east onto Riverside Dr. from the deck of the Big Four Bridge. Staff photo by C.E. Branham
Surface work on the Big Four Bridge will be complete by December. The span will accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. Staff photo by C.E. Branham

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August 29, 2012

Deck is finally stacked: Last piece of Big Four falls into place

By BRADEN LAMMERS braden.lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Wed Aug 29, 2012, 06:46 AM EDT

LOUISVILLE — The final piece of the Big Four Bridge deck was dropped into place Tuesday.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, a handful of cyclists and others joined the construction crew that has been working to transition the former railroad crossing over the Ohio River into a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.

“This is the most anticipated piece of Waterfront Park,” said David Karem, president of the Louisville Waterfront Development Corp.

Once completed, the former railroad bridge built in 1895, and that has been abandoned for more than 40 years, will connect Jeffersonville to Louisville in Waterfront Park along River Road. The ramp on the Kentucky side of the bridge has been completed and the $12 million project to resurface the former railroad bridge — being paid for by Kentucky — is expected to be completed before December.

“We’ll go ahead and open this up in December and then have the full crossing [open] in the spring,” Fischer said. “There will be hundreds of thousands of people using this every year.”

He said it is expected that Jeffersonville will have its ramp completed by April.

“Well, all of the planning has been done, they’re project managing that accordingly, so they should be fine,” Fischer said of the Indiana ramp.

Clarksville-based Gohmann Asphalt and Construction is completing the ramp in Jeffersonville, near the corner of Chestnut Street and Pearl streets, for $6.5 million. Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore said there has been no change in the construction timeline and it is expected to be completed about April 1.

“Everything’s going along great,” he said. “You can see a change being made every morning.”

While the completion of the Big Four is sure to act as a connection across the Ohio River, Moore also views the bridge as a major economic development tool for Jeffersonville. He said he believes that the city is already beginning to see an increased interest in economic development and he has had conversations with multiple developers about property around the area that will surround the pedestrian bridge landing, called Big Four Station.

“I think it’s going to be one of the biggest gems in the entire state of Indiana that we’ll see opening in 2013,” Moore said.

The Big Four Station plan to construct an open green space that will include a farmers market, playground and include the potential for future mixed-use development has not been lauded by all of the city’s residents.

Concerns were offered recently by Greg Sekula, director of Indiana Landmark’s Southern Regional Office, and members of the Rose Hill Neighborhood Association about tearing down some of the homes in the area and how it will affect the neighborhood’s historic designation.

Moore has offered to have the city pay $10,000 to help relocate some of the homes slated for destruction if an interested party comes forward. The only investors, so far, that have asked for help paying to move a property are Walter and Mary Jo Carrico, who offered to purchase the Reuben Wells home.

The Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission agreed to pay $25,000 toward the relocation of the home and the Carricos are expected to make a request to have the redevelopment commission pay another $25,000 at its meeting Wednesday after the Jeffersonville City Council denied the request.