KYTC NEWS RELEASE
A contractor for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) plans to restrict traffic to one lane on the Interstate 24 Ohio River Bridge between Metropolis, IL, and Paducah, KY, starting Monday, February 8, 2016.
The initial work zone lane restriction will be for EASTBOUND traffic only. The work zone is to facilitate installation of new bearings on the bridge structure. The contractor anticipates having lane restrictions up for one direction at a time as about 20 bearings are to be replaced.
Temporary Roadway Closure Tuesday Morning
In addition to the lane closure, the contractor will also temporarily halt traffic at the bridge early on Tuesday morning, February 9th. The contractor will use rolling road blocks to stop traffic both eastbound and westbound traffic at each end of the bridge. This temporary closure will last approximately 10 minutes and will take place between the hours of 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., CST, Tuesday. This temporary closure is facilitate prep work for the bearing replacement project.
Appropriate caution is required in the work zone where equipment, flaggers, and maintenance personnel are along the roadway in close proximity to traffic flow.
St. Louis Bridge is the prime contractor on this $4.6 million bridge maintenance project. The expected completion date is May 30, 2016.
The Interstate 24 Ohio River Bridge is a 5,632 ft. 4-lane structure with two tied arch main spans and 17 approach/connector spans. The southern arch span is 730 ft. long while the northernmost main arch span is 630 ft. The bridge is located at Kentucky mile point 0.0 and Illinois mile point 28.5.
The bridge opened to traffic in 1973 and now carries about 30,000 vehicles across the Ohio River between Paducah, KY, and Metropolis, IL, in an average day. The bridge is at Ohio River navigation mile point 940.8.