The nearly-completed bridge linking Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana now has a name. Gov. Steve Beshear christened the structure in honor of the 16th President of the United States Monday.
With an executive order, Beshear ended months of speculation about the new bridge’s moniker. The Interstate 65 connection spanning the Ohio River will bear the name of Kentucky native Abraham Lincoln. Anticipating criticism that the celebrated president’s name already adorns countless statues, buildings, and streets across the country, Beshear told reporters this project was especially symbolic.
"It's further fitting that we honor Lincoln with a bridge that links Kentucky, where he was born, and Indiana, where he lived as a youth and grew to adulthood," he said in his remarks.
The structure, one of two that make up the $2.3 billion dollar Ohio River Bridges Project, has created its own divisions over issues ranging from the environmental impact to whether to allow tolls. The second bridge is being built eight miles upriver.
Other names thrown in the suggestion box included former Kentucky Gov. Wendell Ford and famed Catholic monk and social activist Thomas Merton.
The Abraham Lincoln Bridge is expected to open before Christmas.
