Bridge repairs on the 4th Street Bridge, which connects Covington and Newport across the Licking River, were completed Wednesday.
All lanes have reopened, and the weight limit for vehicles using the bridge has been upgraded. The $82,000 bridge repair project replaced rivets and bolts and added steel plates to reinforce steel connections.Â
With repairs complete, the bridge will now post a 19-ton weight limit. Signage has been installed on both sides of the bridge crossing. With school coming back into session, this upgraded weight limit will allow school buses to once again use this bridge crossing. Additionally, all lanes of travel on the bridge (two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane) have been restored.
The repairs followed a recent inspection, which found deterioration in some of the bridge’s steel structures. As a precaution, on May 6, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet posted a 12-ton weight limit on the bridge, which had previously been posted at 17 tons. Additionally, travel lanes were reduced to a single lane in each direction.
The crossing’s new 19-ton weight limit still restricts use by fire trucks, loaded garbage trucks, loaded tractor trailers and Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, also known as TANK, buses.
A bridge replacement project is under contract. The project team is refining the design. An announcement on an updated construction schedule is expected later this year.Â