Old Barkley Bridge Demo Preparations Postponed

The upcoming wet weather will delay preparations to demolish the Old Barkley Bridge for at least a week.

Keith Todd with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet told WKDZ that the demolition contractor had planned to start jackhammering on the old bridge's concrete deck this week, but the forecast of daily rain through next Wednesday will push that work into the latter part of next week.

The contractor will focus on other projects before they return to the task of removing the concrete and preparing the bridge's steel structure for explosives, with a demolition target of late March or early April.

Two-way traffic was diverted from the old bridge on Monday onto two lanes of the new structure. The new bridge will eventually provide four lanes of vehicle traffic, as well as access a walking and biking path.