Pier demolition of U.S. 60 Cumberland River ‘Smithland’ Bridge moved to Jan. 6

LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Ky. (KBSI) – Explosive demolition for piers of the Old U.S. 60 Cumberland River “Smithland” Bridge has been moved to Saturday morning, January 6.

Crews had scheduled the demo for Friday, January 5 at noon.

The New U.S. 60 Cumberland River Bridge will be closed to traffic for about 20 to 30 minutes to accommodate each of two blasts expected at 9 a.m. and around 11 a.m. on Saturday. The demolition contractor will try to keep the length of closures on the new bridge as short as possible.

The contractor will again establish a 1,500 ft. clear zone around the blast site.

The public is asked to stay out of the clear zone to avoid delaying the pier detonation.

There will be no public viewing area for Saturday’s blast due to the location of the main piers.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), Jim Smith Contracting, and a demolition contractor are coordinating blast plans with Livingston County Emergency Management, the Kentucky Division of Mine Reclamation, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The New U.S. 60 Cumberland River Bridge will close to traffic for a short time. The river will be closed to navigation to execute the blasts on Saturday.

The New U.S. 60 Cumberland River “Smithland” Bridge at Smithland is also known as the Jim R. Smith Memorial Bridge. It opened to traffic on May 15, 2023. The new bridge is at U.S. 60 Livingston County mile point 12.348. The 1,912 foot structure has a 700 foot main truss and 40 fott wide deck that was constructed by Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers.

About 5,100 vehicles cross the Smithland Bridge in an average day, according to KYTC. The bridge is at Cumberland River navigation mile point 2.7.

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