Beginning Thursday, June 27, transportation department crews will make bridge repairs on the KY 8 Licking River Bridge, also known as the 4th Street Bridge, in Kenton and Campbell Counties.
Crews will replace rivets and bolts and add steel plates to reinforce the steel on the bridge. This comes after a transportation cabinet bridge engineering analysis showed that reduced weight limit and traffic changes were needed to prevent further damage until the structure could be repaired. On May 6, KYTC posted a 12-ton weight limit on the bridge.
Vehicular traffic will remain in the current pattern, with one lane maintained in each direction on the bridge. Crews will be on-site between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The bridge repairs will require a sidewalk closure during working hours on the southern portion of the bridge between the roundabout in Newport to the east of the intersection of Fourth and Garrard Streets in Covington. Pedestrians will always have access to the sidewalk on the northern portion of the bridge. There will be signs in place to let folks know how to get around.
The first portion of the repair project is expected to be completed on Friday, July 12. Crews will return to the site in mid-July for a second portion of the repair project.
Once a final inspection is completed following the repairs, the current bridge weight limit will be re-evaluated.
“While the bridge remains safe for vehicles and pedestrians, a recent inspection found deterioration in some of its steel,” the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said on Facebook. “The bridge had been posted at 17 tons.”
A bridge replacement project is currently underway for the bridge.