Covington and Oxford are sister cities, each with unique personalities, but sisters nonetheless.

The sibling cities are linked by the Ga. Highway 81 bridge over I-20. It’s a heavily-used route by motorists, and it’s also regularly used by pedestrians. We’ve seen a lot of younger folks walking across that bridge, sometimes with child in hand.

It’s a long way down to the Interstate, and the guard rail is at a level to protect a car from going over the edge, but would do little to protect a slipping pedestrian.

That’s why the city of Covington’s pursuit of a grant and state money to build a $700,000 footbridge there seems like a good idea.

The footbridge would be to the west (the Atlanta side) of the existing structure and would provide a safer way for walkers and bicyclists to travel between the cities. It would be built offsite and could be installed within hours, we reported online on Tuesday at our website, Covnews.com.

It also would encourage Oxford College students to stroll down to Covington’s commercial corridor.

We know money is tight now. Government should never spend our money frivolously, but a project that would enhance safety and draw two sibling communities closer is worth pursuing.