Second Cairo Bridge Meeting Today

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will hold the second of two public meetings today to discuss options for improving or replacing the U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge - also known as the Cairo Bridge between Wickliffe, KY and Cairo, IL.

About 80 people from Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri attended the first meeting held at Cairo High School on Monday. The second meeting will be held in LaCenter today from 4 - 7 p.m., in the Community Room of the Ballard Center, 547 West Kentucky Drive.

Possible options under consideration for the U.S. 51/U.S. 60/U.S. 62 river crossing include:

1) Rehabilitation of the existing bridge
2) Replacement of the bridge in its current location
3) Construction of a new bridge in a new location

The meetings are being held in an informal format with KYTC staff and consultants available to answer questions and accept comments from interested citizens. The public is invited to provide input for a long-term planning process to identify preferred alternatives for the next phase of project development.

The long-range study is to determine how to best assure the viability of the US 51 crossing that also carries US 60 and US 62 across the Ohio River. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is looking at about a half-dozen alternatives. The existing bridge was constructed in the 1930's.   About 5,400 vehicles cross the Cairo Bridge in an average day. About 35 percent of those vehicles are commercial trucks.

Transportation officials emphasize that no construction activities are planned at this time.  This study is to provide direction for future planning and engineering work required that might eventually lead to construction of a new crossing at or near the existing bridge site.

The bridge carries U.S. 51, U.S. 60, and U.S. 62 across the Ohio River. In Illinois it provides an immediate connection to the U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 Mississippi River Bridge to Missouri, forming an important interstate link. 

The Cairo Bridge Commission constructed the bridge and opened it to traffic on November 11, 1938, as a toll facility. The highway agencies of Kentucky and Illinois took over maintenance of the structure 12 years later.