Weight limits on the bridge had been reduced since late July when inspectors found several beams beneath the bridge deck had been damaged by overweight trucks crossing the structure.
On Monday, a contractor completed a two-week repair project. After engineers completed an inspection of the repairs and ran calculations, they confirmed the bridge could return to normal weight limits.
New signage was posted Friday morning. The new load limits are as follows:
· Type 1: 27 tons—Two axle single unit trucks
· Type 2: 29 tons—Three axle single unit trucks
· Type 3: 34 tons—Four axle single unit trucks
· Type 4: 43 tons—Five axle SEMI trucks
· Single Unit Vehicle—5 axles: 34 tons
· Single Unit Vehicle—6 axles: 34 tons
· Single Unit Vehicle—7+ axles: 35 tons
Several of the truck categories gained 6 to 12 tons per load from the more restrictive limits that have been in place since July.
KYTC engineers have worked with law enforcement agencies to provide more diligent monitoring of truck traffic crossing the bridge. That effort to keep grossly overweight trucks off the bridge will continue.
Truck drivers are responsible for obeying posted load limits on all bridges.
KYTC is in final design phase for 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.
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