U.S. 45 Ohio River ‘Brookport’ Bridge reopened after repaired

BROOKPORT, Ill. (KBSI) – The U.S. 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge between Paducah, Ky., and Brookport, Ill., has reopened after being closed since Saturday due to guardrail and railing damage caused by a weekend traffic crash.

Engineers evaluated the damage. State crews started repairs Monday to reopen the bridge.

The crash caused significant damage to a section of guardrail along the bridge deck and damage to a deck railing support, according to Keith Todd with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

It also bent a section of the bridge railing so it extended into the road.

The KYTC District 1 bridge crew and engineers started the repairs Monday morning.

The repair team was able to start their work more quickly than expected when engineers found steel in inventory on a supply yard matched the railing on the 95-year-old structure.  That allowed repairs to start immediately instead of having to wait for several days while steel to be fabricated.

The U.S. 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge reopened to traffic around 3:15 p.m. Monday.

The bridge is also known as the Brookport Bridge and the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge. It is at McCracken County mile point 12.882.

The 10-span bridge carries approximately 5,000 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Paducah, Ky., and Brookport, Ill.

The bridge has a 15-ton load limit, an 8 ft. load width restriction and a 9 ft. 6 in. vehicle height restriction, which prohibits most commercial trucks and prohibits all STAA Trucks. Large recreational vehicles, farm equipment and permitted loads of any kind are prohibited from crossing the bridge.

The 5,385 ft. structure at Ohio River navigation mile point 937.3 was opened to traffic in 1929.