A pedestrian bridge linking a downtown Columbus parking garage to the Franklin County Municipal Court Building permanently closes Monday.
The enclosed walkway over S. High Street was built in the 1970s. Tyler Lowry with the Franklin County Commissioners office says the expense of the bridge now outweighs its utility.
“There are annual maintenance costs associated with keeping it open, and it has some larger projects that need to be done at this point that would be, we believe, in excess of $900,000, in addition to the ongoing annual maintenance that needs to be done,” Lowry says. “At this point it didn't make sense to invest in that infrastructure that we know may not last for a long time anyway."
Lowry says there are four other public entrances to the county complex, so he doesn’t think people will have trouble getting in. He says it will just mean a slightly longer walk for some people.
The county and city plan to build a new municipal court building, but Lowry says its construction is years away.
Demolition of the bridge is currently unscheduled.
