Downtown bridges set to shine with big improvements

From new lights to “love locks,” downtown’s bridges are becoming among its big attractions.

The Eighth Street bridge officially was lit up Friday night, with colored LED lights that can adjusted for special occasions, display a rainbow of colors or a classic white.

“When you go to larger cities, you see bridges with the arches lit,” said Mark Cotter, the city’s director of public works. “It’s another sign that Sioux Falls is growing up.”

It’s the final improvement in a project that includes removing more than 14 inches of asphalt on the bridge, which is more than a century old, and replacing it with a thinner concrete slab. The width of the pedestrian walkway more than doubled, and new balustrades were installed.

“And we put a channel under there so we could put an LED in to wash the balustrades with light at night,” Cotter said. “We’ve got historical lights on top, and for the arches, we brought in a lighting expert and put in an LED system that gives us the ability to recognize a number of holidays.”

But make sure you walk under the bridge too. That’s where you’ll discover an interpretive wall detailing some history, along with spaces for “love locks.”

Never heard of them?

“As you commit to your significant other, you put a lock on it,” Cotter explained.

The concept is popular worldwide, though so many people did it in Paris that locks have had to be removed.

The Unity Bridge

The city isn’t done improving downtown bridges. Next up: the Sixth Street bridge, which is in design and scheduled to be bid for construction next year with most of the work occurring in 2023.

Dubbed The Unity Bridge, it will include rotating tributes to individuals who have influenced the community in a positive way.

“And I think it’s a great idea,” Cotter added.

Will it be lit too?

“It will,” he answered. “That was one of the first questions I got. People are so jazzed about the Eighth Street lighting. And with Sioux Steel and the Jacobson Plaza, I can see with LED technology just lighting things on steroids.”