U.S. 51 Ohio River ‘Cairo’ Bridge to Reopen Wednesday Afternoon, Aug 26

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans to reopen the U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge to one-lane traffic sometime tomorrow afternoon – five days ahead of schedule. The bridge will most likely reopen around 3 p.m., but that could vary based on the addition of new pavement striping and other factors. The bridge has been closed since Aug. 1 to allow extensive maintenance work along almost 2 miles of the Kentucky approach embankment.  The extended closure also helped to accelerate deck and joint work on the bridge that started June 10.  While the bridge is expected to reopen tomorrow afternoon, it will continue to be restricted to one-lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by an automated signal until around Oct. 1.  The bridge will also have a strictly enforced 8 foot, 6 inch load width restriction.