Drunk drivers wreak havoc on downtown landmark

Drunk drivers are repeatedly smashing into a downtown landmark.

The fountain at Bartlett Square at 5th and Main is a bulls eye for drunk drivers, and it's expensive to repair.

Paul Zachary, an engineer with the city, says the last drunk driver didn't even know he damaged the structure.

Zachary says, "It's at the point now where it's going to have to be reconstructed, possibly removed completely and start from scratch."

He says LED lights may help.

Zachary tells KRMG, "In the evening it would take on a safety function where by it would flash red or yellow or directional arrows or something like that."

Hopefully they're pretty so they can take away from the future barriers.

Zachary says , "There are going to be what we called ballards which are metal or concrete pipes stuck in the ground.”

Right now the fountain is boarded up until city leaders come up with a plan and the money to fix it.

City leaders are asking local artists to pitch in on a contest for the new design.