The Newport Southbank Bridge

The Newport Southbank Bridge. A Walk Down History Lane. , Proudly sponsored by the law firm of Cors and Bassett in celebration of our 75th Anniversary of crossing legal bridges on behalf of our valued clients: August 2004, It's old, we're telling you o-l-d. Originally built in 1872, the former L and N Railroad bridge was the first railroad bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinnati and is one of the oldest surviving railroad bridges in the country. While the last train to cross was in 1987, the bridge remained open to automobile traffic until 2001, when it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. , By the people, for the people. Officially named the Newport Southbank Bridge, the structure took on the more commonly used name of "Purple People Bridge" based on its unusual color. More than a dozen groups of people viewed a computer-generated image of the bridge painted in green, rust, orange, white, and purple. Purple was consistently the top choice., Walk a half-mile in your shoes. At 2,670 feet, the bridge is just over a half-mile long, a distance that's much easier to walk than to swim. The Purple People Bridge is the longest pedestrian bridge in the country, linking two states., And maybe a few bicycles, too. During its existence, trains, horse-drawn carriages, streetcars, automobiles, and, of course, people have used the bridge to cross the river., An investment in the future. The bridge was restored and opened as a pedestrian-only walkway in 2003 at a cost of approximately $4 million.