Cairo Bridge Repairs To Snarl Traffic This Summer

A repair project on the U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge between Wickliffe, KY, and Cairo, IL, will impact truck traffic this summer. Trucks will be have to be rerouted for approximately 70 days beginning after June 24th.

Excluding commercial trucks and other large vehicles from the bridge work zone turns a six-mile trip from Wickliffe to Cairo into about an 80-mile detour via the I-24 Ohio River Bridge at Paducah.  By falling in the window for harvesting of spring wheat, the original project schedule would have created issues for area farmers attempting to haul their crop to grain facilities.  That prompted transportation officials to move the project start date back two weeks.

According to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 spokesman Keith Todd, the agency wants truckers and suppliers who depend on the bridge to be aware of the coming project.

“This project involves repairs on bridge deck stringers and replacement of seven joints on the bridge decking,”  Todd said.  “This work will exclude trucks and other large vehicles such as motor homes from the bridge for about 70 days.”

While the work will create a major inconvenience for area shippers, Todd noted that the maintenance and repair work is required to maintain the long-term reliability of the river crossing.

The contractor is currently fabricating steel needed for the repair work.  As that preliminary work nears completion, the contractor will schedule a more specific start date sometime after June 24th.  Todd noted that will likely extend completion of the project into mid-September.

By maintaining passenger vehicle traffic, commuters who travel between Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri will still be able to get to and from work.  While the project is scheduled for 70 working-days, KYTC engineers are optimistic it can be completed more quickly than that if the weather cooperates.  The bridge will be restricted to one lane traffic and a strict 7 ft. load width due to equipment that will be needed on the deck to accomplish the work.

Also known as the Cairo Bridge, the U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge also carries U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 between Kentucky and Illinois.  It connects with the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Mississippi River Bridge which carries traffic between Illinois and Missouri.   Commercial trucks make up about 35 percent of the 5,500 vehicles that cross the Ohio River each day, making it a key transportation link between the three states.