By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge is getting a coat of bright yellow primer. (Leigh Patton photo) | ZOOM |

No, the bright yellow paint that is making the Big Mac bridge live up to its namesake is not going to be a permanent feature of the downtown view.

But the bridge may not be putting on its regular colors for the upcoming Tall Stacks festival, either.

This week, workers painting the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, commonly called the Big Mac after the distinctive golden arches of McDonald's that it resembles, put down a coat of an eye-popping, canary-colored primer. A $3.7 million repainting project began last month and is expected to continue through next October.

Sam Beverage, the chief engineer of the region's office of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, said the final colors will be the same as those now on the bridge - gold for the actual bridge and gray for the rest of the approaches.

But he acknowledged that the bridge may have some different colors during the festival, scheduled for Oct. 15-19 along the Ohio side of the river. Beverage did say that the rigging, including the drapes that help protect vehicles on the bridge from painting, will be removed for the festival.

If you are traveling in the area this weekend to go to today's 1:15 p.m. Cincinnati Reds game or to Newport on the Levee, watch for lane closures in both directions of the bridge from today to 9 p.m. Sunday.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com