PADUCAH, Ky. (Nov 1, 2019) — As a reminder, a contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) started overnight closures on the on the U.S. 60 Cumberland River Bridge at Smithland in Livingston County Friday night.
A project to replace beams damaged by overweight trucks will close the Smithland Bridge to all traffic from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., central time, for two weeks.
There will be no marked detour. Portable message boards are placed at key locations along U.S. 60 to alert through-traffic to the nightly closures. The bridge is expected to have all lanes open during the day with a reduced work zone speed limit.
The location of the bridge near the mid-point of U.S. 60 in Livingston County creates a critical transportation disconnect during the nightly closures.
A self-detour via U.S. 641, I-24 and KY 453 creates a 74-mile detour from one end of the bridge to the other. Approximately 3,500 vehicles cross the bridge in an average day. While traffic numbers drop significantly at night, the overnight closures create a challenge for night commuters.
The project schedule is aimed at restoring the bridge to normal traffic flow before Thanksgiving and returning the bridge to a standard 40-ton load limit to aid farmers and area industries.
Hall Contracting is the prime contractor on the bridge repair project. The target completion date for the nightly closures is November 16.
The U.S. 60 Cumberland River Bridge at Smithland, also known as the Lucy Jefferson Lewis Memorial Bridge and the Smithland Bridge, is at U.S. 60 Livingston County mile point 12.697. The 1,817-foot through truss structure opened to traffic in 1931. The bridge is located at Cumberland River navigation mile point 2.7.
KYTC is currently in the final design phase for the construction of a new bridge immediately downstream from the existing structure. The new $45 million bridge remains on track for bidding in February 2020, with construction expected to take just over two years to complete.