It’s an office with a view and no windows are needed. The men and women who are building the new Downtown bridge that is part of the Louisville – Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project are reaching new heights with their work. The first tower for the bridge is complete, stretching 230 feet above the Ohio River.
Topping out the first tower marks another milestone for the Downtown Crossing. How do you best tell the story of the work underway and the progress being made? You pay a visit to their office.
After undergoing safety training and donning a life vest and hard hat, I was able to join a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet section engineer for a trek to the top of Tower 5, the tower closet to the Indiana shore. The result was a stellar view and a better understanding of the project.
I had a chance to go where few others are able to, so I needed to find the right tools to tell this visual story. High resolution photographs taken from atop the tower and a GoPro video camera strapped to a hard hat were the answer. I wanted to give the media and the many people keeping an eye on this mega-project an idea of what it’s like to report to an office that is more than 200 feet in the air.
The pictures and video were key, but they weren’t the only important component. With any good story, you must have the right storytellers. We called upon a KYTC engineer who is often atop one of the towers and a Walsh Construction journeyman carpenter to do what nobody else can – explain what it’s like to work 12 hour days high above the Ohio River.
Telling this story was worth the climb. Take a look and enjoy the view.
Mindy Peterson
C2 Senior Strategist
