Republicans reject Hatfield amendment to fund pedestrian bridge on U.S. Highway 41

INDIANAPOLIS – Republicans rejected a proposal authored by Representative Ryan Hatfield (D-Evansville) that would have funded a pedestrian bridge over U.S. Highway 41 in Evansville near Benjamin Bosse High School.

Hatfield authored the amendment to House Bill 1001, the biennial state budget. It would have allocated $1 million of state funding to the construction of a pedestrian bridge over U.S. Highway 41 in Evansville at Washington Avenue.

“Children in Evansville have to cross Highway 41 to get to school every day,” Hatfield said. “Students should not have to risk their safety in order to attend school. We have a pedestrian bridge for nearly every other high school in town and it is time we protect Bosse students too.

“If we can’t ensure a child feels safe on their daily walk to school, we are not doing enough to protect our students,” Hatfield added.