Media ADVISORY A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has started structural repair work on the US 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge between Paducah, KY, and Brookport, IL. The bridge has been closed since July 8th to allow construction of a tunnel to carry Paducah’s Greenway Trail under US 45 at the Paducah floodwall. The crew has started repairs on a beam on the third span out from the Illinois side of the river. That work is expected to take about two days to complete. Once that repair is completed, the crew will move to the second span from the Kentucky end of the bridge. The work at that site is expected to take 2 to 3 days to complete. Transportation officials are again asking anyone who has information about damage to a beam that likely occurred around April 30th to contact the agency. Engineers believe the damage was caused by a red truck, possibly hauling an oversized load traveling from Kentucky northward into Illinois. Following discovery of the damaged vertical beam, the bridge was reduced to a 20-ton load limit which prohibits most trucks. The bridge was already restricted to vehicles no more than 8 ft wide due to the width of the deck. Judy C. Harp Company is handling repairs to the bridge under a $68,269 expedited contract. The contractor took delivery of replacement steel over the weekend. To maintain the historic look, replacement beams include lattice that matches the design of existing steel on the 85 year old structure. The contractor will also be using bolts that are designed to look similar to rivets that were originally used to construct the bridge. Also known as the Brookport Bridge and the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge, the US 45 Ohio River Bridge is at McCracken County mile point 12.882. The 10-span bridge carries approximately 5,000 vehicles across the river each day between Paducah, KY, and Brookport, IL. It has been closed for the last 20 days to allow a tunnel to be construction for Paducah’s Greenway Trail near the Paducah floodwall. That work is nearing completion. Kentucky highway crews have worked to complete as much maintenance work as possible while the bridge has been closed, along with prep work for the structural repairs. KYTC engineers have indicated they hope to have the bridge ready to reopen to traffic in time for the morning commute on August 4th. The 5,385 ft. structure at Ohio River navigation mile point 937.3 was opened to traffic in 1929. Due to deck width the bridge is currently restricted to vehicles no more than 8 feet wide, which prohibits most trucks.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 21:40:38 +0000
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