POULSBO — If you find yourself crossing Lindvig Bridge come October, you might want to make sure you have a few coins.

Trolls are moving in, and you don’t want to be caught without the proper toll.

In keeping with Scandinavian legend, artist James Mayo will paint a mural on the bridge near Fish Park depicting bridge trolls peeking out windows.

“That’s one of the old Scandinavian legends, the trolls under the bridge,” Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson said. “The story goes, you have to pay the troll to get across the bridge.”

The City of Poulsbo won’t be requiring a toll. But, according to mythology, failing a troll could prove problematic.

This work of public art has been a long time coming, according to Erickson. She said the city has been talking about doing artwork on that bridge for a while, but though several ideas have been floated, “it’s always been outrageously expensive. … We’ve never been able to fund it.”

The mural will cost the city $9,500, half of which will come from the art fund, half from the general fund, Erickson said.

The project has been a “long-term council goal.”

A few months ago, Erickson enlisted the help of Mayo, who has done a few murals in the city in the past and is currently working on a mural on the Maritime Museum, which is set to open mid-September.

“I said (to Mayo), ‘I want you to paint this bridge. I want you to put some murals on the side of the bridge,’ “ Erickson said. “And he looked at it … and I said, ‘Get back to me, tell me what you can do.’ I didn’t hear from him for months. Then, all of a sudden, he shows up and he had this vision.”

The vision includes painting the sides of the bridge to look like pebbled stones, with windows on the sides showing trolls peeking out. Under the bridge, salmon will be depicted “to reflect and honor Fish Park,” Erickson said.

Erickson has, in the past, talked about adding a troll to the bridge crossing over Highway 305, but said Mayo came up with the idea for trolls on this bridge on his own.

“This was his vision,” Erickson said. “And he told me that he had a hard time with this, because it’s a very kind of narrow space that he’s painting on. It’ll be a difficult thing to do. He couldn’t quite figure out exactly how to make this work.

“When he came back to me … I was just thrilled.”

Erickson said good public art “has to be part of who we are in the community.”

“Real public art conveys the essence of the community,” she said. “It is a demonstration of who we are, and it is art that we truly love. You see that throughout history. Great public art reflects the people who lived there.”

Because of Poulsbo’s Scandinavian roots — the earliest immigrants were from Norway — Erickson said the troll is a good addition to the public art in Poulsbo.

Mayo’s idea for the artwork was included in a recent newsletter issued by the city, according to Erickson, and she said she’s gotten “several comments.”

“Everybody seems to love it,” she said.

She also presented it to the Poulsbo City Council for approval. Erickson said, “The council loves the idea. Everybody seems to be really appreciative of it. They think it’s a wonderful idea. It’s fun.”

According to the mayor, Mayo has already painted a base coat of paint on the bridge, and people can see him working hard over the next few weeks, as the contract says the mural must be completed by Sept. 30.

So, on Oct. 1, if you’re walking across that bridge, be prepared to pay the troll’s asking price. And maybe leave your goats at home.