LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Metro government is leading a new push for pedestrian and cycling access on the Kentucky & Indiana Bridge, a span that carries trains across the Ohio River.
The city of Louisville is sponsoring a $30 million proposal to make the crossing between the Portland neighborhood and New Albany, Indiana, a “shared-use path” that would open by 2040. A regional planning agency now will consider adding it to a list of priorities in a long-range transportation plan.
The action is the latest in a long-running effort that has met with resistance from bridge owner Norfolk Southern Corp., which previously has raised liability concerns about letting people close to active train traffic. Supporters say a pedestrian path there would complement southern Indiana’s greenway trail and provide a cross-river connection similar to the Big Four Bridge downtown.
“With recent investments in west Louisville and the opportunities presented in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Louisville Metro wants to make sure the project is eligible for any future funds to open bike and pedestrian facilities to the bridge, should the opportunity arise to do so,” Jessica Wethington, a spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Fischer, said in an emailed statement.
The Fischer administration this week requested adding the K&I Bridge proposal to the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency’s long-range plan. Metro government is one of 18 voting members on the agency’s transportation committee.
Fischer’s office did not make anyone available for an interview.
KIPDA is seeking feedback on the bridge proposal and other potential changes to the five-county plan in Kentucky and southern Indiana until May 23. A virtual public meeting is set for May 18.
Norfolk Southern hasn’t changed its position from previous, similar proposals, according to spokesman Connor Spielmaker.
A pedestrian path on the K&I Bridge was first included in the long-range plan in 2006 and was still listed as recently as 2014, but it was not part of the current version adopted in February 2020. The 2014 cost estimate was $338,000.
State, local and federal officials have tried to persuade Norfolk Southern for years to allow pedestrian access on a former automobile lane on the bridge. And they have sought to ease safety concerns.
In 2006, then-U.S. Reps. Anne Northup of Kentucky and Mike Sodrel of Indiana joined former mayors Jerry Abramson of Louisville, Rob Waiz of Jeffersonville and James Garner of New Albany in a letter to the railroad’s chairman, noting that the K&I proposal wasn’t unique.
“Dozens of active railroad bridges share pathways with non-vehicular traffic on Greenways Trails around the country, and we believe that approach will work in our region as well,” they wrote.
Two years later, Metro government and Norfolk Southern lawyers argued over whether the bridge could be condemned. That led to the railroad’s general counsel warning Metro not to let employees or appraisers on the span.
The bridge connects Portland and New Albany and opened in 1912, with vehicle lanes on each side, according to the Encyclopedia of Louisville. Those lanes closed after a truck crash in 1979, but traffic had been declining for years after the opening of the Interstate 64 Sherman Minton Bridge in the 1960s.
The Ohio River Greenway, a multi-use path between Jeffersonville and New Albany, already runs past the bridge in New Albany.
“We have not had discussions with Norfolk Southern about the issue for years, but we are curious to hear about new developments,” New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan said in a statement.
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