Cairo Bridge Work On Schedule at Halfway Point

By the calendar, it's the halfway point for the month-long closure of the Ohio River Cairo bridge. Traffic from US 51, 60 and 62 has had to be completely diverted so that major earthmoving and concrete work could be completed on the Kentucky approach levee in Ballard County.

KYTC reports that work is on schedule, and they anticipate that restricted traffic will be able to resume around August 31.

Surveying and prep work has had to be done around almost daily thunderstorms, but crews have kept the schedule of concrete pours on pace.

In the meantime, the traffic load has multiplied in Fulton County on the Dorena-Hickman ferry, which has had its own problems with mechanical issues and the need for dredging around its river landings.

Also, southern Illinois has seen oversized loads and increased traffic occurring on secondary roads in Pulaski, Alexander and Union counties. Officials remind southern Illinois travelers to take I-24 to Vienna and head west toward Cape Girardeau on IL 146.