Work zone restriction in place from 8 a.m., to 1 p.m., Wednesday

PADUCAH, Ky. (January 2, 2024) – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans a work zone lane restriction on the U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.

This work zone lane restriction on the U.S. 51 Ohio River “Cairo” Bridge is to allow a crew to clean the deck and perform maintenance work along the bridge.  This will be a mobile operation with a short work zone to help minimize delays.

This work zone will be active from about 8:30 a.m., CST, to about 1 p.m., on Wednesday.

Motorists should be alert for one lane traffic with alternating flow controlled by flaggers.  Some delays are possible during the movement and placement of equipment to facilitate the work.

Appropriate caution is required where equipment, flaggers, and maintenance personnel are along the bridge deck in close proximity to traffic flow.

The bridge carries U.S. 51, U.S. 60, and U.S. 62 traffic across the Ohio River at U.S. 51 Kentucky mile point 7.372.

Also known as The Cairo Bridge, the U.S. 51/U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Wickliffe-Cairo Bridge carries approximately 5,000 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Wickliffe, KY, and Cairo, IL.  About 35 percent of those vehicles are commercial trucks.  It is the longest bridge in Kentucky and the westernmost bridge over the Ohio River.

The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge was constructed by the Cairo Bridge Commission. It opened to traffic on November 11, 1936, as a toll bridge.  Tolls were removed from the crossing on November 11, 1948, when the highway departments of Kentucky and Illinois took over maintenance of the structure.

The bridge is at Ohio River navigation mile point 980.4.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are in an extended planning process for the construction of a new bridge at this site.  For more info on the planning process go to https://us51bridge.com/.