It has been five years since Owensboro residents have seen the Owensboro Bridge lit, after an accident causing a fatality forced officials to turn off the lights in 2013. This year, Owensboro’s iconic blue bridge will once again be lit, a priority for both the previous and current mayor.
According to Mayor Tom Watson, who addressed the community in his state of the city address at the Convention Center Thursday, officials selected AECOM, a multinational engineering firm, to design the LED lighting installation.
Watson said residents can expect the project to take eight months to complete from design concept to bidding to construction.
“We’re going to light that bridge, I can promise you that,” Watson said.
The estimated cost for the relighting project is $750,000 to $800,000.
“That is a working estimate from a budgetary standpoint, it will be updated as the design progresses and is finalized,” said City Manager Nate Pagan.
Two years ago, Watson asked City staff to add a note on residents’ tax bills with the option to donate an amount of their choice to the bridge relighting fund. In two years, Owensboro residents have contributed $10,093.43 toward the project.
Watson said the City has some money in its community vision fund to pay for the project, and he has been impressed with the community’s financial support.
“The fact that normal people kicked in $10,000 for the design phase of it was fabulous,” Watson said. “That tells the department of transportation and state government that this is truly a community wish.”
After five years without bridge lighting, Watson is ready to see the project completed.
“We are trying to move as fast as we can, but the government runs pretty slow,” Watson said. “It would be really neat if we could do it at the last Friday After 5. That would be an ideal situation for me.”
Read Owensboro Times’ original article on the bridge relighting and why the project has taken so long to complete.
