U.S. 51 Ohio River ‘Cairo’ Bridge to Reopen Wednesday Afternoon, Aug 26

Bridge to reopen to one-lane traffic five days ahead of schedule

PADUCAH, Ky. (Aug 24, 2020)  — A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans to reopen the U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge to one-lane traffic sometime on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 26 – five days ahead of schedule.

The bridge will most likely reopen around 3 p.m., CDT, Wednesday, but that could vary based on the addition of new pavement striping and other factors.

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 has been closed since Aug 1 to allow extensive maintenance work along almost 2 miles of the Kentucky approach embankment.  The extended closure also helped to accelerate deck and joint work on the bridge that started June 10.  While the bridge is expected to reopen Wednesday afternoon, it will continue to be restricted to one-lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by an automated signal until around Oct. 1.  The bridge will also have a strictly enforced 8 foot, 6 inch load width restriction.

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.  The closure also served to triple the number of vehicle crossings on the Dorena-Hickman Ferry, another viable alternate.

KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer Kyle Poat thanked area commuters and cross-country travelers for their patience during the extended closure.

“We appreciate the hardship our commuters and other travelers have endured.  Drivers are going to need additional patience as the work continues.  The bridge work zone will continue to be restricted to one lane, alternating flow, and  loads no wider than 8 and a half feet,” Poat said  “We will continue to have workers on the bridge deck in close proximity to traffic flow, So, it’s important to obey the work zone speed limit and use extra caution as work continues.”

Poat also expressed his appreciation to the contractor for completing the Kentucky approach work ahead of schedule.

“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 added.  “Several years with extended periods of high river levels have not been kind to the earthen roadway structure that was constructed in the mid-1930s.  KYTC crews had worked to reinforce the roadway embankment during the last two years, but some additional work was required.  Applying a concrete driving surface and finishing out the shoulder area with millings is expected to help the earthworks better withstand future floods and maintain the reliability of this important river crossing.”

Poat also noted that there will 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.