Bridge fell into disuse after the Big Four Railroad's parent company, the New York Central Railroad, was merged into the Penn Central in 1968. The last train ran across the bridge on March 10, 1968. The Big Four Bridge's former traffic was then routed over Louisville's Fourteenth Street Bridge. From July 26, 1974, to January 1975, both approach spans were removed by the Detzel Construction Company of Cincinnati, Ohio and were sold for scrap. As a result, the Big Four Bridge became the first Louisville bridge to fall out of use, and gained the nickname "Bridge That Goes Nowhere". During the 1970s and 1980s, local radio station WLRS-102 FM lit up the Big Four Bridge as part of their "Bridge the Gap" Christmas promotion, which was used as a fund raiser for needy local families. Some of the lights spelled out "LRS 102". After unsuccessful litigation to stop the project, the Big Four Bridge was converted into a pedestrian and bicycle bridge as part of Louisville Waterfront Park and the ongoing revitalization of the Louisville riverfront. This conversion had been proposed and planned since the 1990s. In February 2013, pedestrians were allowed to access the completed bridge from the ramp on the Kentucky side. The Indiana ramp opened on May 20, 2014. Lighting along the bridge is required for safety and had been redesigned to please nearby residents. Originally, the lighting was to be similar to those on the Kentucky side, which has computer-controlled lights that can show various colors. The Indiana construction also had to be cautious of historic properties. During Thunder Over Louisville, the Big Four Bridge sets the limit on how close private boats can get to the fireworks, which are centered three bridges away on the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge. The Waterfront Development Corporation spent $500,000 in upgrades to the Louisville Waterfront Park near the bridge, which took place from late 2015 to early 2016. Improvements included additional landscaping, a new path west from the ramp, and a plaza underneath the bridge. Fires Between its closing as a rail bridge and its reopening as a pedestrian span, the bridge has seen occasional fires; two in the 1970s, one in 1987 and one in 2008. In 1987 Christmas lights posted on the bridge to promote a toy drive started the fire; both the Jeffersonville and Louisville Fire Departments fought six to eight hours to put out