The U.S. 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge between Paducah, KY, and Brookport, IL, remains closed.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet personnel checked the bridge this afternoon and found there is still substantial icing on the metal decking. The temperature did not warm the bridge sufficiently to melt the ice today. With a low down in the 20s expected overnight, it is likely to be late Friday or sometime Saturday before temperatures rise enough to melt the ice.
The U.S. 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge remains closed.
KYTC District 1 will provide timely notice when the bridge is able to reopen.
To get traffic advisories and alerts for the Brookport Bridge via email please go to https://public.govdelivery.
Also known as the Brookport Bridge and the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge, the U.S. 45 Ohio River Bridge is at McCracken County mile point 12.882.
The 10-span bridge carries approximately 5,000 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Paducah, KY, and Brookport, IL.
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 has a 15-ton load limit. It is currently restricted to vehicles no more than 8 feet wide and has a 9 ft. 6 in. vehicle height restriction, which prohibits most commercial trucks and prohibits all STAA Trucks. Farm equipment and permitted loads of any kind are prohibited from crossing the structure.