Henley Bridge to be lit in honor of Trump presidential inauguration

Get ready for a patriotic showing on the Henley Bridge.

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero announced Thursday the city will light the busy downtown bridge in red, white and blue in honor of the presidential inauguration.

Plans call for the bridge decking to be lit Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Donald Trump will become the nation's 45th president at a swearing-in ceremony that begins 11:30 a.m. Friday outside the Capitol. You can watch the event on 10News and live on wbir.com.

City leaders in recent years have begun using the bridge across Fort Loudoun Lake more frequently to recognize local and national events.

For example, the decks were lit in orange at the beginning of the month in a nod to the University of Tennessee's appearance in the Music City Bowl. Last week it featured royal blue hues in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Next month, plans call for lighting Henley Bridge red for National Wear Red Day; green, gold and blue in honor of the Bassmaster Elite Series; and red and white for Valentine's Day.

Henley Bridge also has been lit for sad occasions. Knoxville was among several American cities that received national attention in April after it displayed purple lights on the bridge upon the death of Prince, who loved the color purple.

City to light Henley Bridge red

Tonight (Oct. 15), the city will light the Henley Street Bridge in red in support of the Redeeming Red Project and Dyslexia Awareness, according to a county news release.

Apparently, today is World Dyslexia Day and local officials are "Redeeming Red" in support of the roughly 20 percent of the population that is affected by the learning disability.

Knox County Commissioner Jeff Ownby has been instrumental in the effort here in the area.

For more info, click RIGHT SMACK HERE.

Henley Bridge project time-lapse

Check out this incredible hand-edited time-lapse movie of the Henley Bridge project, courtesy of TDOT. It covers the progress from December 2010 to this January.

Henley Bridge reopens in few hours

Finally. Tonight. Da Bridge opens. From WBIR: After being closed for almost three years, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will reopen the delay-plagued Henley Bridge on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 12:01 a.m.

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer announced the bridge will initially reopen one lane in both directions. However, bike lanes won't be open until the final completion date which is June 3, 2014.

Schroer said the bridge is structurally ready for traffic and that remaining work will mostly be aesthetics.

TDOT also announced the estimated cost of the project remains unchanged at $31 million.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett tweeted this pic earlier today

The Henley Bridge closed back in January 2011. Within the first year, two workers were killed working on the project, causing construction to temporarily shut down. Later, TDOT announced crews would need to replace three of the large concrete pier columns, pushing the completion date into 2014.