Work begins to rehab College Street Bridge

Published:

June 16, 2023

Category:

General

Contact:

Deborah Highland West - 270-393-3642

Location:

Bowling Green, KY

Work to rehabilitate the College Street Pedestrian bridge began today. The boat access ramp beneath the bridge will be closed for several weeks. More updates will be posted here as conditions change.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Contractors will begin working on a project to rehabilitate the College Street Pedestrian Bridge beginning Friday, June 16.

During this first phase, contractors will be working under the bridge in order to do some necessary work to the piers. To safely complete this work, the boat access ramp beneath the College Street Pedestrian Bridge will be closed for several weeks.

The pedestrian bridge itself will remain open during this phase, but will necessitate closure during future phases when deck timbers are replaced, wind bracing repaired, and when the structural steel is blast cleaned, primed, and painted.

The College Street Pedestrian Bridge is located downtown in Riverfront Park and was completed in 1915. This historic truss bridge serves as a pedestrian bridge on the City's greenways network. 

In 2019, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Bridge Inspection staff performed a bridge inspection that included an arm's length inspection of all non-redundant steel tension members as well as general inspection of the deck, superstructure, and substructure components.  Recommended improvements and maintenance actions to various components of the structure were provided to the City.

While the deficiencies found do not pose an immediate threat to the overall stability of the bridge, inspection staff recommended the repair be made in the near future.  Additionally, given the interest in developing Riverfront Park, it is anticipated that there will be more pedestrians utilizing the bridge in the near future.

FY2022 funding in the amount of $40,000 was allocated for a more comprehensive inspection, data collection, and design to determine repair needs and costs.

The following fiscal year an application was submitted and awarded for a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant in the amount of $1.6 million.  This funding is through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC).  This grant program has an 80/20 federal to local match requirement resulting in $400,000 required by the City for this project.

Additional notices will be provided as the rehabilitation process progresses.