CINCINNATI — The Purple People Bridge should fully reopen by Thanksgiving, thanks to a $350,000 donation to fund both the temporary and permanent fixes it needs.
The pedestrian-only bridge will temporarily reopen on Saturday for the American Cancer Society's fundraising run for breast cancer research.
The bridge originally closed on May 11 after a stone fell from the first pier, loosening other stones. It wasn't estimated to reopen until March or April of 2022.
The $350,000 donation doesn't cover everything the bridge was projected to need; in August, the estimated cost of fixing the bridge was $200,000, with an extra $1 million needed to paint it.
The temporary fix for the bridge requires the Ohio side to be jacked up. After that, crews will replace the rock that fell out or pour reinforced concrete in to seal the rocks.
The closure of the Purple People Bridge, combined with the closure of the Roebling Bridge and ongoing lane closures on the Brent Spence Bridge, has impacted local businesses on the Northern Kentucky side of the river for most of the year.
"Well, certainly by having them closed as they are now, or half-closed, it makes you realize how much we took them for granted, and how much we depend on them," said Richard Hunt, owner of Roebling Point Books and Coffee in Covington, in May when the Purple People Bridge first closed.
