Repairs to begin Monday on US 51 bridge at Cairo

Repairs are expected to begin the week of July 13 on the US 51 Ohio River bridge connecting Wickliffe and Cairo.

State engineers, designers, safety personnel and the contractor have finalized a detailed repair plan that prioritizes worker safety and aims to protect the nearly 90-year-old bridge from subsequent damage during the repair process.

The bridge will remain closed until repairs are completed. Early estimates indicate the bridge could reopen to traffic by Wednesday, July 22. 

KYTC closed the bridge as a traffic safety precaution on Monday after nspectors determined that a bearing pad on the Kentucky approach had shifted out of place, causing the bridge deck to become misaligned by two to three inches at an expansion joint.

Repairing the bridge will require crews to lift a heavy section of the bridge deck to replace the bearing pad and install additional reinforcement.

Bridges of this size are federally required to undergo a hands-on inspection every two years. This inspection had originally been scheduled for later this year, but District 1 has coordinated with the state to move the inspection forward so it can be completed during the emergency repair closure. 

The US 51 bridge carries an average of 5,400 vehicles each day, over 2000 of which are semis and commercial vehicles.