The Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Company formed in 1887 as a receivership in the creation of the Big Four Bridge, built to carry the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St Louis Railway. On December 15, 1893, strong winds blew over a crane, which hit a span and caused it to collapse, throwing 41 men from the bridge into the Ohio River. Citizens of Jeffersonville rushed to help and rescued 20 men, while 21 drowned, and the falling span narrowly missed the passenger-filled Jeffersonville-Louisville Ferry crossing the river. After the accident, new reinforcements were used to prevent similar accidents, and construction of the bridge was completed in September 1895 at a cost of $2.5 million. Bigger approaches and stronger spans were later added in 1912 and 1928, respectively. In 1968, Penn Central, parent company of the Big Four Railroad, took over the bridge and closed it for lack of financial resources, and the connecting spans were sold for scrap in 1974. In 2014, the bridge reopened to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to cross between Louisville and Jeffersonville.