City to Light Up Pedestrian Bridge Red, White & Blue

The Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge will be red, white and blue for the Fourth of July weekend.

City parks officials installed new LED lights on the bridge, replacing the bridge’s original lights installed 10 years ago. New lights were also added to illuminate the bridge and the plaza on Riverfront Drive.

“The bridge is one of the signatures of Omaha’s skyline, especially at night, and this upgrade is especially beautiful,” Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said in a news release Tuesday morning.

The colored lights were added in time for the College World Series, and Stothert noted they are visible from TD Ameritrade Park.

Those lights can be choreographed to recognize holidays, events and special requests. The effect is similar to the Woodman Tower, which switched to LED lights in 2014 for its illumination.

“The bridge is a popular destination for family events, proposals, fundraising walks and tourists,” Brook Bench, city parks director, said in a release. “We can make all those events even more special with the lighting improvements.”

The lights cost $720,000 and were paid for by a bridge fund to which Council Bluffs and Omaha each contribute $130,000 a year for bridge maintenance, repair and improvements. The bridge opened in September 2008.

In addition to the lights, the Omaha Parks Department added more cameras across the span of the bridge to improve security and monitor weather conditions.