Traffic crossing the 4th Street Bridge between Newport and Covington. File photo | LINK nky archives

What you need to know

  • The 4th Street Bridge, built in 1936, will close in January 2026 for a full replacement project.
  • TANK will operate a free shuttle service between Covington and Newport using the Girl Scout Bridge during construction.
  • The shuttle, called the Licking River Link, will run every 30 minutes, seven days a week, through summer 2028.

The 4th Street Bridge is one of the most vital pieces of cross-river infrastructure in all of Northern Kentucky, connecting the densely populated cities of Covington and Newport across the Licking River. 

The truss bridge, which was erected in 1936, serves pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike, seeing large volumes of traffic from morning and afternoon commuters. Route 8, also known as the Mary Ingles Highway, is the roadway that crosses the bridge. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet oversees the route and performs routine maintenance on the bridge.

However, after nearly 90 years of daily use, the bridge’s age prompted local and state officials to announce a replacement. With a years-long bridge replacement project on the horizon, established commuter routes will be disrupted by the construction. The bridge will be closed to all traffic starting in January 2026.

The 4th Street Bridge is one of two bridges connecting Covington and Newport; the other is the Girl Scout Bridge, which runs along 11th Street. Traffic on the Girl Scout Bridge will increase significantly as drivers are forced to take an alternative route between Covington and Newport during construction.

To counteract this, the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, in partnership with KYTC, announced that the transit agency would offer free shuttle service between Covington and Newport over the Girl Scout Bridge to accommodate people during the construction of the replacement bridge.

The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky’s new bus routes in wake of the 4th St. Bridge closure. Photo provided | TANK

“Starting in January, we’re going to close the KY-8 Licking River Bridge for demolition with the existing bridge and preparation for the replacement,” said Cory Wilson, staff engineer at KYTC’s District 6 office in Fort Mitchell. “Very early in the project, we identified that we needed to serve a need in our local communities for folks that don’t have vehicular options for taking the vehicular or detour, and so we created a shuttle route that will pick those folks up in Covington or Newport and take them in between the two cities using the vehicle detour that we’ve set up.”

TANK will operate the new Licking River Link shuttle as a public bus route, forming a one-way loop to accommodate Covington’s one-way streets, specifically Scott and Greenup streets.

The route will include stops in both Newport and Covington, such as Central Avenue at 10th and 8th streets and Isabella Street at 6th and 9th streets in Newport. In Covington, stops will be on Greenup Street at 9th and 5th streets and on Scott Street at 6th and 11th streets. 

The shuttle will operate every 30 minutes, seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. Service is scheduled to start at the beginning of next year and continue daily through the summer of 2028.

“We know that there are people who make that commute every day on their bicycles, by walking, you know, other modes other than their personal vehicles,” Gina Douthat, executive director of TANK, told LINK nky. “So when that bridge is closed and no longer available to them, they’ll be looking for other options, and we are happy to be part of that.”

Douthat said that the agency does not currently provide a bus route across the 4th Street Bridge due to imposed weight restrictions. Buses are barred from crossing the bridge.

Kenton is a reporter for LINK nky. Email him at khornbeck@linknky.com Twitter.