Time to put those estimating skills to the test; a construction company is having a “Guess the Gallons” contest where people who live in the Louisville metro area are invited to guess just how much paint it will take to coat the Sherman Minton Bridge that spans the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky and New Albany, Indiana.

The bridge is going into its 60th year and is currently in the middle of a multi-year painting and rehab project that began in 2018 and is expected to “cross” into 2023. Six winners will receive a $100 gift card to a restaurant in the area — and once the bridge is finished, they shouldn’t have any trouble getting there.

In this case, it’s the estimate that counts, as the construction company acknowledges that the actual true number of gallons used will not be known until the end of construction, which is expected to be mid-2023. “For purposes of this contest, the winning number will be judged as the project team’s initial estimated amount of paint for the third and final finish coat,” they said.

The senior project manager at Kokosing Construction Company, the Ohio-based firm in charge of the renovation, stated that the company thought this would be a fun way to engage the public in the project, to give people a “peek behind the curtain” as well as support some locally owned businesses through the gift cards.

The contest ends August 16 and winners will be announced the next week. The bridge, slightly over 2,000 feet long, carries about 70,000 vehicles a day between Indiana and Kentucky. This project is expected to add 30 years to its lifespan. Just as important, the company is doing its best to keep at least one lane of traffic open on each side at all times.