State transportation officials announced Monday that the Clay Street bridge replacement project will begin Friday, causing traffic along that corridor to be re-routed until the scheduled completion date.
District 2 spokesperson Matt Hughes said demolition of the bridge would start on Friday or soon after with work to construct the new bridge lasting till just before the start of school in August. Hughes said Monday a detour plan would be released later this week.
Officials said the new bridge is scheduled to be open by August 1.
The bridge has been an issue since May 2024 when during a routine inspection, officials “found significant deterioration of the metal support structure,” said a release from the cabinet.
The bridge was closed immediately after, throwing a wrench in transportation for many in the city. That stretch of Clay Street serves as a key entryway and exit for the East End.
It carries an average of 5,779 vehicles a day, according to a state traffic count in 2020. Countywide traffic counts show that makes it one of the busiest state routes in Henderson County excluding primary highways such as U.S. 60, U.S. 41, U.S. 41-Alternate, Kentucky 351/Second Street, Interstate 69 and the Audubon Parkway.
Two months after the bridge was shut last summer, it re-opened after KYTC engineers encased the existing steel piers and concrete pilings under the bridge with a layer of concrete to form a new, sturdier support system.
KYTC officials said then the new concrete piers would both support the bridge and prevent further deterioration to the old supports.
With Friday’s closing, two bridges in the area will be closed to traffic. The other, the bridge on Adams Lane that runs over U.S. 41, is closed for repair as a part of the I-69 project. It is scheduled to reopen this spring, most likely mid- to late-April, said Mindy Peterson, the spokesperson for I-69 Ohio River Crossing.
Nearby, the Airline Road bridge that spans U.S. 41 is also scheduled for repairs as a part of the I-69 project, Peterson said. She said that there will be some overlap when both the Airline Road bridge and the Adams Lane bridge will be closed. Officials want to start work on the Airline Road bridge during the week of Henderson County Schools’ spring break, which is April 7-11, Peterson said.
