Jefferson Street Pedestrian Bridge In Downtown Rockford Gets New Lights

The lights have been replaced on the Jefferson Street pedestrian bridge in downtown Rockford.

It had been since the old "On The Waterfront" festival days when I last used that pedestrian bridge to cross the Rock River. It was a great short cut if you were going from the "Oasis Stage" to the carnival.

The first time I went to "Stroll on State," after the tree lighting there were thousands of people on the State Street bridge. You couldn't get through the crowd to the other side. I immediately thought of the people bridge under Jefferson Street. When I got there, it was closed. Apparently, that's going to change soon. The first phase recently took place.

According to rrstar.com,

"The Jefferson Street bridge has a new glow that will brighten the path for pedestrians when the long-closed footbridge reopens this spring. A construction team led by IMEG Corp. installed 53 LED lights on the underside of the bridge and above the future pedestrian walkway. The lights were installed in mid-December and recently turned on as the rest of the project continues."

"The downtown footbridge over the Rock River closed in late 2015 after an inspection revealed deterioration that could make it unsafe for walkers. Last year, the Rockford Park District approved spending $575,000 for the design and construction of the walkway, with the Illinois Department of Transportation picking up the rest of the $2.5 million construction price tag. The park district hired Larson & Darby Group to design the new walkway. The original footbridge opened in 1988."

With all the improvement and activities going on downtown, I think this will make a fine addition.

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