U.S. 45 Ohio River ‘Brookport’ Bridge to close July 1 & 2

BROOKPORT, Ill. (KBSI) – Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials plan to temporarily close the U.S. 45 Ohio River ‘Brookport’ Bridge on Monday and Tuesday, July 1 and 2.

The U.S. 45 Ohio River ‘Brookport’ Bridge will close promptly at 8 a.m. Monday and remain closed until about 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

This is to allow a contractor to mill and pave the Kentucky approaches to the bridge.

The bridge will remain closed overnight due to the placement of equipment to facilitate the work and depth of milling.

During the two-day closure, the city of Brookport will work on storm drainage valves and piping in a manhole immediately off the Illinois end of the bridge.

There will be no marked detour. Driver can self-detour via the Interstate 24 Ohio River Bridge.

The Brookport Bridge has a 15-ton load limit.  Due to the bridge deck width, it is restricted to vehicles no more than 8 feet wide and has a 9 foot, six inch vehicle height restriction, which prohibits most commercial trucks and prohibits all semi/STAA trucks. Farm equipment and permitted loads of any kind are prohibited from crossing the bridge.

Also known as the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge, the U.S. 45 Ohio River Bridge is at McCracken County mile point 12.882.

The 10-span bridge carries just more than 6,000 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Paducah, Ky., and Brookport, Ill.