Work Zone Restriction for Detailed Inspection of U.S. 51 Ohio River "Cairo" Bridge to Continue Friday
Last round of bridge deck inspection expected to be completed Friday afternoon
PADUCAH, Ky. (August 25, 2022) – A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) contractor plans to restrict traffic to one lane on the U.S. 51 Ohio River "Cairo" Bridge between Kentucky and Illinois on Friday, August 26, 2022.
The inspection team anticipates Friday will be the last day for a work zone lane restriction with a 10 ft. load width restriction on the bridge. Inspectors hope to complete an inspection of the deck and guardrails on Friday. That could allow the lane and load width restriction to be removed from the bridge my mid-afternoon.
On Friday, motorists should be alert for one-lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by flaggers. The location of this restriction will move through the day as inspectors make their way from one end of the bridge to the other. Appropriate caution is required.
Once the deck inspection is completed Friday afternoon, the remaining inspection work can be completed by climbers without a lane or width restriction. Climbers are expected to be in the bridge for several more days going about their work.
KYTC District 1 will attempt to provide timely notice when the lane restriction and load width restriction is removed. The target completion date for all inspection work on the U.S. 51 Ohio River "Cairo" Bridge is September 1, 2022.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River "Cairo" Bridge also carries U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 traffic across the Ohio River at U.S. 51 Kentucky mile point 7.372.
Also known as The Cairo Bridge, the structure carries approximately 5,800 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Wickliffe, KY, and Cairo, IL. About 35 percent of those vehicles are commercial trucks.
The Cairo Bridge immediately connects with the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Mississippi River Bridge that connects Missouri and Illinois. The east-west traffic on U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 combines with the north-south traffic on U.S. 51 to create a critical transportation link.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge opened to traffic on November 11, 1936. Tolls were removed from the crossing on November 11, 1948, when the highway departments of Kentucky and Illinois took over maintenance of the structure.
The Cairo-Wickliffe Bridge is at Ohio River navigation mile point 980.4.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are in the planning process for construction of a new bridge across the Ohio River.
For more info on planning for the new bridge, go to https://us51bridge.com/.
To get traffic advisories and alerts for KYTC District 1 counties via email please go to https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/KYTC/signup/13651. Click on the District 1 counties you regularly drive through, or on any of the specialty corridors you travel. Please check your SPAM filtering to assure Gov Delivery is on your approved list.
Timely traffic advisories for the 12 counties of KYTC Highway District 1 are available by going to www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.
Navigate traffic at goky.ky.gov, at waze.com, or with the WAZE App.
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