KY 937/Cutoff Road in LIVINGSTON County has reopened to traffic at the Lee Creek Bridge just south of the US 60 intersection. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet engineers have been working extra hours since Friday to get the roadway open in time for Livingston County schools go into session on Wednesday.
KY 937/Cutoff Road was closed Friday morning due to a substructure failure on the Lee Creek Bridge at mile point 0.874. During an inspection, engineers found a severely damaged piling on the bridge. They spent much of the day Friday developing a plan to get the highway opened to traffic as safely and as quickly as possible.
Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers was able to place a temporary military-style bridge over the existing structure that has sufficient load capacity to carry school bus traffic. Work to install the temporary structure has been completed in the last hour and the roadway Is open.
Motorists who plan to travel KY 937/Cutoff Road should be aware that the speed limit at the temporary bridge is reduced to 35 miles per hour. A Transportation Cabinet crew will restrict traffic to one lane on the temporary bridge during the day on Wednesday to complete some additional finish work.
The closure of KY 937/Cutoff Road was especially critical since it serves as a detour for KY 453 which is closed for a culvert replacement project south of Smithland. Traffic is flowing on KY 937 at this time.