Parent of former Bosse students reacts to new pedestrian bridge

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — Crossing over a busy part of Highway 41 will soon be part of the past, thanks to a new, long-awaited pedestrian bridge. Crews closed the intersection to traffic and used a crane to lift the bridge into place on Wednesday night.

“It was long overdue,” says Valarie Lamey.

Lamey stood in a crowd of onlookers and says watching it go up brought back memories. She says she crossed the busy intersection for several years when her kids attended Bosse High School.

“I spent a lot of time walking across the street to McDonalds and getting things after school when they were in football and band. It was never safe and now it will be safe,” says Lamey.

The Indiana Department of Transportation and EVSC unveiled plans for the bridge last fall. At that time, INDOT said the bridge would utilize a lot of the same bricks the school has, and be adorned with the letter “E” for Evansville and “B” for Bosse.

“We want to make things accessible. And if folks are walking or riding their bike, we want to make sure that they have a safe way to get around our roads,” says Gary Brian, the Public Relations Director of INDOT Southwest.

Although the bridge is up, INDOT says there is still work to be done. INDOT says the next steps include creating ramps in the concrete columns.

“The whole project looks to be through the end of October. So while the bridge is up, it is not open yet,” Brian says.

The bridge is just one of the projects taking place on this section of Highway 41. Work on a reduced conflict intersection is also taking place. It is expected to be done by May.

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