A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has reopened the U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge to one-lane traffic a day earlier than expected- six days ahead of schedule. One-lane traffic has resumed.
The bridge was expected to reopen Wednesday afternoon, but a contractor completed roadway and levee maintenance work on a 2-mile section of the Kentucky approach today. The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge continues to have one-lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by an automated signal and an 8 ft., 6 inch load width restriction.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge serves as a north-south connection for U.S. 51, as well as an east-west transportation corridor for U.S. 60 and U.S. 62. The bridge carries about 7,000 vehicles per day between Kentucky and Illinois. Almost 35 percent is commercial trucks.
The bridge had been closed since Aug 1. During the extended closure, commuters between Wickliffe, Kentucky, and Cairo, Illinois, have had to contend with about an 80-mile detour. Motorists and truckers who adjusted their travel route before arriving at the bridge faced a shorter alternate route via the Interstate 24 Ohio River Bridge at Paducah-Metropolis.
KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer Kyle Poat thanked area commuters and cross-country travelers for their patience during the extended closure. He reminded motorists that there is still work to be completed on the bridge deck.
As one-lane traffic resumes, commuters, travelers, and truckers will find an improved concrete driving surface along almost 2-miles of the Kentucky roadway approach embankment between the Willow Slough ‘Mile Long’ Bridge and the Minor Slough Bridge.
Poat also noted that there will likely be some additional asphalt paving along the Kentucky approach between the Minor Slough bridge and the main bridge the week before Labor Day. That work could raise the driving surface elevation as much as 15 inches in some low spots, helping to reduce the likelihood and length of closures during extreme flood conditions. That paving work will be completed in short sections with one-lane traffic controlled by flaggers. A more specific traffic advisory will be issued before the work starts.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge is about 5 miles north of Wickliffe at Kentucky mile point 7.372. Also known as the Cairo Bridge, it connects with the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Mississippi River Bridge that carries traffic between Illinois and Missouri.
Intech Contracting, LLC, is the prime contractor on the $8,060,092 project aimed at optimizing the existing structure in anticipation construction on a new bridge for the crossing could start in the next 10 to 15 years. The target completion date for this round of maintenance on the bridge and Kentucky approach embankment is Oct. 1, 2020.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge opened to traffic on Nov. 11, 1936. The Cairo-Wickliffe Bridge is at Ohio River navigation mile point 980.4 near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.