16 years after its closure, pedestrian bridge over I-240 at Smoky Park Bridge is re-opened

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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The pedestrian bridge over Interstate 240 that connects the Hillcrest community with sidewalks to downtown Asheville was officially open on Friday. Loyal reader Bill called in to say he saw someone walking across it Friday afternoon, and Asheville City Councilman Gordon Smith tweeted that the bridge was open.

Asheville City Council voted in August to ask the state DOT to reopen the bridge after a pedestrian trying to cross the busy interstate below was hit by a vehicle and killed. Here’s the column I wrote this summer in support of the bridge reopening.

Click on the tags “pedestrian bridge” and “pedestrian safety” at the bottom of this post to read background on this story.