By the end of this year, the Abraham Lincoln Bridge will carry six lanes of northbound traffic, the improved Kennedy Bridge will carry six lanes of southbound traffic and the East End bridge will be carrying four lanes of traffic as a long-awaited connection is finally made between Prospect and Utica.
The Ohio River Bridges Project is uniting the region like never before, and has the potential to inspire young minds for years to come. The Kentucky Science Center is doing its part to make sure the lessons continue long after the last orange barrel is removed.
Earlier this month, the Science Center unveiled Ohio River Bridges Project: the Exhibition. It’s a chance to learn about the science behind building a bridge. C2 Strategic Communications is one of the companies underwriting the project. We’re proud to be a part of a bridge that will last for generations, and educational efforts for young people who may help build other great additions to our community.
The exhibit includes all sorts of cool stuff – time lapse video of the Lincoln Bridge and East End Bridge under construction, a computer simulation that allows users to design a tunnel, video interviews with several folks who played a role in the project, a timeline that chronicles the last 50 years leading to construction (no easy feat!) and many hands-on exhibits including a replica bridge with cables to adjust.
The best part of being at the opening of the exhibit was watching the kids explore, play and learn. They were having fun while learning about stress and tension. They jumped right in to adjust cables and test loads by “driving” cars across the bridge. Kids were excited and engaged, and who knows what that will lead to!
The Kentucky Science Center and the new Bridges exhibit are all about planting seeds – sparking imagination, developing young minds and seeing what happens next. As kids watch the bridges take shape, test engineering principles behind bridge design and learn about the many professions that played a role in this project, inspiration may just strike.
It took a lot of hard work from a diverse group of folks we like to call our “Bridge Builders” to turn decades of debate into action. Of course we’re talking about the men and women pouring concrete and setting steel, but we’re also talking about the state, community, business and project leaders who had a vision – one that is now very close to reality.
As we get closer to a moment that many thought they would never see happen in their lifetimes, with two new bridges fully open to traffic, I’m glad to know kids and parents in the area will be reminded of all that has led to this moment when they pay a visit to the Kentucky Science Center. And I can’t wait to see what our future Bridge Builders have in store for us.
Mindy Peterson
Senior Strategist
