MADISON —
The Ohio River will be closed to barges Monday while the second piece of the new bridge is put into place on temporary piers.
Pleasure boaters will have to stay back 500 feet from both sides of the bridge and will be prohibited from causing a wake for 1,000 feet on both sides. The restrictions will be enforced, said Andrea Clifford, public information officer for the Kentucky Department of Highways.
But the advice is for pleasure boaters to stay off the river in the area.
“It really wouldn’t be a good idea to watch the lift from the river,” she said.
She said people will be safer on land and the bridge workers will benefit if boaters are not around.
“The workers have a very important job to do next week,” Clifford said. “They don’t need to be worrying about boats going by, and worrying about those distractions.”
The bridge will remain open to vehicle traffic during the lift, which will begin at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Sept. 10, weather permitting.
The restrictions for barges and pleasure boats will begin at the same time and will last 24 hours. The restriction is due to the span lifting taking place in the main shipping channel, the bridge project team said in a press release.
The span, which is being built on barges on the Kentucky side of the river, will be floated into place, then lifted 90 to 95 feet using special hydraulic jacks and bundled strands of steel cable.
The span will be 727 feet long and weigh 2,067 tons, or 4.1 million pounds.
A smaller piece — 600 feet long and 1,776 tons — was put into place in June.
Work has started on building the rest of the bridge on-site rather than on barges. Work also has begun on the permanent approaches on both sides of the river. Both flare out at the end because they will be used for traffic to get onto the new bridge while it is still on the temporary piers.
When that happens, the existing bridge will be removed and the new bridge will be slid over on top of the existing piers. The completed bridge is expected to be open to traffic next spring.
Recent Local News
September 6, 2012
Second Milton-Madison Bridge span lift begins Monday, closing Ohio River
New bridge is expected to open in spring
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