The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is seeking the assistance of both state and federal law enforcement agencies to track
down vandals who have recently damaged and stolen navigation lights on two Paducah area bridges.
Sometime over Labor Day weekend, the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department investigated a report of damage to navigation lights on the US 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge at Paducah. Someone had severely damaged a solar panel that powers critical navigation lights, prompting a report to the U.S. Coast Guard so commercial tow boats could be alerted that some navigation lights were out of service. The solar panel damage knocked out green lights that marked the center of the main Ohio River navigation span on the structure.
The following week, inspectors found damage to solar navigation lights on the KY 453 Canal Bridge near the Lyon-Livingston County Line just south of Grand Rivers at the northern entrance to Land Between The Lakes National Recreation area. A check on the bridge also found damage to the walkway used by inspectors to access the area beneath the bridge deck. Two of the red navigation lights that mark piers of the
bridge for passing boat traffic had been stolen. Two others had been damaged. The incident was reported to the Lyon County Sheriff and Coast Guard officials.
KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer Mike McGregor is asking a variety of agencies to assist with investigating the damage. He’s also asking anyone with information on the vandalism to contact police, KYTC District 1, or the Coast Guard.
“This is more than just vandalism. It creates a safety hazard for passing tow boat traffic and it creates a hazard to those traveling on the bridge,” McGregor said. “Additionally, it is costly to repair and replace these critical navigation lights.”
Officials are investigating paint used to vandalize navigation lights with graffiti on piers nearby that contained social media account information, phone numbers, and other identifiers that could connect specific individuals to the damage.
McGregor said at the very least the damage cost estimate would be high enough to reach felony status under Kentucky state law. In addition to state felony charges, federal charges could be added for destroying a navigation light that is critical for river traffic safety.
This is the second time vandals have damaged navigation lights on the Canal Bridge. In March of 2013, inspectors found much of the wiring that supplied electric power to the navigation lights had been stolen. Damage at that time was estimated at more than $50,000. The hard-wired system was replaced with solar powered lights that were permanently attached to the bridge structure.
“Theft of wiring and metal to sell for scrap is an ongoing problem for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, as it is for many businesses, churches and even individual homeowners across the Commonwealth,” McGregor said. “We’ve had several successful prosecutions of people charged with stealing wiring from highway lighting systems.”
The KY 453 Canal Bridge, also known as the Between the Rivers Memorial Bridge is about a quarter-mile south of the Lyon-Livingston county line at Grand Rivers. This bridge crosses the canal that connects Kentucky Lake with Lake Barkley and serves as the northern entrance to the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area. About 1,200 vehicles cross the bridge in an average day.
The US 45 “Brookport” Bridge carries US 45 across the Ohio River between Paducah and Brookport, Ill. This structure, also known as the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge, is located in McCracken County at mile marker 12.8. The 10-span bridge carries about 5,000 vehicles across the river each day. The 5,385-foot structure was opened to traffic in 1929. Due to deck width the bridge is currently restricted to vehicles no more than 8 feet wide, which prohibits most trucks.