NEW ALBANY — The ballyhooed opening of the Big Four pedestrian bridge in Jeffersonville has garnered a great amount of attention, but there are other significant projects affecting the Ohio River Greenway on the horizon.
Later this year, construction is expected to begin on a segment of the path from East 18th Street to East Ninth Street along Water Street in New Albany. The estimated $2 million project is in the final stages of design, as Greenway officials are waiting on the state to approve documents related to environmental and historic protection procedures during construction.
“It will be a link between the two pieces that have already been completed in New Albany,” said Ohio River Greenway Project Coordinator Shaunna Graf.
Though city officials declined to comment on linking the project to the K&I Bridge, the 2013 annual Greenway report cites that a portion of the project will include the connection of a ramp near Vincennes Street that will provide potential access to the bridge.
Norfolk Southern Railroad owns the bridge, and there has been a public push in recent years to open the span for pedestrian use.
With developers stepping up to invest in west Louisville and the Portland neighborhood, Graf said there’s a growing push to reopen the K&I Bridge, as New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer have expressed interest in the idea.
“That kind of prioritization is what needs to happen in order to get the K&I open,” she said.
But Scott Wood, director of the New Albany Plan Commission and a city liaison to the Ohio River Greenway Commission, emphasized that the K&I Bridge and is not part of the congressionally designated Greenway path.
“The final segment that’s going to be let [for construction] is going to be from the Sherman Minton Bridge to West 10th Street,” Wood said.
Graf confirmed that, but declined to state the work would be finished there, as Graf added “the other portion that is just paramount is the connection to the K&I Bridge.”
With New Albany completing pedestrian-friendly improvements along East Main Street to Vincennes Street, Graf said access will already be better if the K&I Bridge is opened to the public.
It should be an easier connection than the Big Four project, which required a ramp to be built several feet in the air to provide access, she continued.
But no indication has been given by Norfolk Southern that the K&I Bridge will be opened.
There’s also not a firm timeline in place to finish a span across Silver Creek to connect Clarksville and New Albany.
That portion of the Greenway is technically Clarksville’s responsibility, however New Albany officials said the town has indicated it doesn’t have the funding in place to complete the project. As a result, New Albany may be approached to provide funding to connect the Greenway across Silver Creek to the Loop Island Wetlands.
New Albany is responsible for 20 percent of the estimated $2 million project at East 18th Street, as federal funds administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation will cover the rest.
INDOT will handle the bids for the project, and those are expected to be received in time for construction to begin this winter.
Graf said she believes enough funds have been reserved to complete the project, but that won’t be entirely known until the bids come back.
© 2024 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.