Kentucky & Indiana Terminal Bridge
Kentucky & Indiana Bridge | |
|---|---|
The bridge seen from the Indiana side in 2006 | |
| Coordinates | 38°16′58.21″N 85°48′5.83″W / 38.2828361°N 85.8016194°W |
| Crosses | Ohio River |
| Locale | Louisville, Kentucky and New Albany, Indiana |
| Maintained by | Norfolk Southern Railway |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 6,000 ft (1,830 m) |
| Width | 70 ft (21 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1912 (current bridge); 1885 (original bridge) |
| Location | |
Interactive map of Kentucky & Indiana Bridge | |
The Kentucky & Indiana Bridge (K&I Bridge) is one of the first multimodal bridges to cross the Ohio River. It was designed for both railway and roadway purposes, although the roadway has been closed since 1979. The K&I Bridge connects Louisville, Kentucky, to New Albany, Indiana.
Constructed from 1881 to 1885 by the Kentucky and Indiana Bridge Company, the original K&I Bridge opened in 1886. Federal, state, and local law state that railway, streetcar, wagon-way, and pedestrian modes of travel were intended by the cities of New Albany and Louisville, the states of Kentucky and Indiana, the United States Congress, and the bridge owners. It included a single standard gauge track and two wagon ways, allowing wagons and other animal powered vehicles to cross the Ohio River by a method other than ferry for the first time. At that time, motorized vehicles were virtually nonexistent. The K&I Bridge company also owned a ferry boat operation during both the first and second bridge; eventually that operation was sold as the bridge's success largely outmoded boat usage.