NEW ALBANY, Ind. — As of Monday, construction workers and traffic cones are now vacant when driving across the Sherman Minton Bridge. Officials said in October that work on the rehabilitation project would be wrapping up by late-November as they are currently scheduling a final inspection date.
Small business owners in New Albany are excited to welcome Kentuckians with no barriers restricting them from visiting.
"Month to month it can be hard when there's not that local foot traffic," said owner of Elderberry Co. Jenny Watson. "Especially if you have a business that can't be online. And I'm just so excited for that community to come back with that bridge being completed."
Elderberry Co. is located on Pearl Street. Watson said it's been a turbulent time for small shops in the city while the Sherman Minton underwent several closures during for over three years.
"Our busiest months of the year are right now and when that bridge is hard for people to get across, it affects our sales and makes it a lot harder for us as a small local business," Watson said. "To really have those exciting months, to know customers are wanting our products, but just have a hard time getting here."
As the holiday season ramps up, so is the traffic over the Ohio River. Seeing traffic flow nonstop on the bridge is a sight the owner of Sweet B's, Garreth Stephens, is excited to see.
"If we can get an extra 100 people a week from using the bridge that's a big difference for us," Stephens said.
Sweet B's also relies on foot traffic to keep revenue flowing. Although their ice cream business will take a winter break, he's excited to see how many new faces they'll meet next year.
"So next summer we're really excited to have a fully open downtown New Albany," Stephens said. "I think people prefer to come across this bridge due to the lack of tolls. Which brings them to this area and of course we have limited parking down here. So it's really reliant on people parking and getting out walking."
The project spokesperson, Andrea Brady, told WHAS11 on Monday that the project is still on track for a late-November target for completion. She also mentioned the conclusion of the work will be followed by an inspection which will officially signal the end of the project. An inspection date has not been scheduled yet and they hope to know more after the Thanksgiving holiday.
The end of the project could encourage more shoppers to visit the small businesses in New Albany. A moment owners like Watson and Stephens have been waiting for.
► Contact reporter Jose Alonzo at jalonzo@whas11.com or on X.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, or visit our Facebook page or X feed.