JEFFERSONVILLE — Decades of anticipation for a direct connection between Prospect, Ky. and Jeffersonville were realized Sunday when officials celebrated the opening of the east-end bridge, dubbed the Lewis and Clark Bridge.
State leaders and project representatives marked the historic moment at the bridge's foot in Indiana with a ceremony, dotted with hot air balloons riding over the bridge, followed by a public caravan of 500 cars across the new bridge.
It was a day many in Southern Indiana and Louisville thought they'd never see. Leaders expect the infrastructure milestone will be pivotal in the region's economic prosperity in years to come.
"A week ago just today, we celebrated in Indiana our 200th birthday, 200 years strong," Gov.-elect Eric Holcomb said. "And I can't think of a better way to start our new century, this being the first paragraph of that third century, than celebrating the completion of this very project.
"A dream that has been 40 years in the making is now a reality."
The $1.05 billion east-end crossing, which includes new approaches in both Indiana and Kentucky, will connect Interstate 265 in both states with two lanes of north- and south-bound traffic in each direction.
The bridge also includes a multi-use path separated by a barricade will allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Ohio River, too.
It will be one of three bridges, including the Kennedy and Lincoln bridges, that will be tolled beginning Dec. 30 until at least 2053.
While state officials announced their intentions to build the bridge in 2002, construction didn't begin until the spring of 2013. As of Sunday evening, the bridge finally opened to traffic for all.
Holcomb, elected as Indiana's new governor in November, read from Gov. and Vice President-elect Mike Pence's proclamation that gives the bridge its moniker.
It's welcome news for Southern Indiana's state lawmakers who campaigned earlier this year to name the bridge after William Clark and Meriwether Lewis.
Rep. Steve Stemler, D-Jeffersonville, authored a resolution showing support for naming the bridge after the explorers who began their Corps of Discovery Expedition at the Falls of the Ohio in Clarksville.
The resolution passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives but died in committee before going up for a vote in the Senate.
At the time, some reportedly had safety concerns about confusions with the Clark Memorial Bridge, named after George Rogers Clark. Stemler previously told the News and Tribune that Pence's administration was interested in naming the bridge after former president Ronald Reagan.
Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, the first to join as a co-author, said Sunday he's excited Pence decided to name the bridge for the explorers.
"It's the most appropriate name for the bridge in the same way that [Abraham] Lincoln was a transcendent historical figure uniting the two states, lewis and clark were transcendent historical figures uniting the two states," Clere said.
In addition to their connection to Southern Indiana, Lewis and Clark recruited men from Kentucky to their permanent party and also visited Locust Grove in Louisville on their way back.
"Not only is it important in an historical sense, but it's important in what it symbolizes in uniting the two states and bringing attention to the legacy of Lewis and Clark," Clere said.
Dignitaries who spoke at the ceremony Sunday highlighted the crucial partnership between Kentucky and Indiana in making the bridge — and the Ohio River Bridges Project in its entirety — a reality.
"If anybody remembers anything from the construction of this project, I hope it is what can be achieved by many different entities, people not divided but working together, to accomplish great things," said Robert Morphonios, CEO and project manager for WVB East End Partners.
Morphonios lauded the work of WVB East End Partners, a conglomerate of firms from around the world who designed and built the project.
"You couldn't ask for a better consortium of partnership and project developers for construction operations and finance of a project like this," he said.
The project is expected to bring $87 billion of economic impact to the region over the next 30 years, according to one study.
"This is truly a milestone in the history of American infrastructure, and it's also a turning point and the start of a new era for Jeffersonville, Louisville and the entire Kentuckiana corridor," said David Kim, deputy administrator for the Federal Highway Administration.
Holcomb also said the project is about more than just connecting communities.
"It connects people, it connects people to jobs, people to economic opportunity and a better quality of life," he said.