Will take about a month to fix; KYTC will implement three lanes on northbound bridge, one lane on southbound to keep traffic flowing
A follow-up inspection performed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has found there is a damaged support beam underneath the southbound U.S. 41 Twin Bridge that will take about a month to fix.
In the meantime, KYTC officials are planning to shift one lane of southbound traffic onto the northbound bridge, which will allow four lanes of traffic—two north and two south—to continue.
KYTC is currently developing the plan that will close one lane on the southbound bridge and create three—two northbound and one southbound—on the northbound Twin Bridge. KYTC said that it plans to have that traffic pattern in place by the end of the week.
KYTC spokesperson Matt Hughes said that getting the plan in place will require an alteration to the R-Cut (restricted crossing U-turn intersection)—the one closest to the bridges—so that the southbound lane on the northbound bridge can be put in place. He said there is a raised median that will need to be taken out so that traffic can progress there.
Hughes also said that the alteration will remain in place so that in the future, if there are repairs that require a lane closure, putting in place three lanes on the northbound bridge can be done quickly.
The follow-up inspection occurred on Monday, and it found the damaged support beam can safely be repaired.
Hughes said the damaged support beam is an angle-elbow shaped beam on which a crack was found. He said the crack was not found during the last inspections—which occurred in August and found that three rocker bearings had shifted out of place under the left lane of the southbound bridge—because the equipment needed to look at it was not available during that time span.
Hughes said KYTC scheduled Monday’s inspection specifically to inspect the support beam.
Additionally, KYTC said the bridge is structurally sound and safe to carry traffic as it was constructed with redundancy in its support system so several parts work together to carry the weight of the structure. “…the bridge does not rely on any one part for support,” said a release from KYTC.
Hughes said the redundancy is a second backup beam that is carrying the weight of the structure. Officials closed the one lane of traffic to lessen the stress on the backup beam because if something were to happen to it, there’s not a third support beam to do the work, he said.
Additional details about the temporary traffic configuration and repair timeline will be provided once the plan has been finalized and all necessary safety measures are in place, KYTC said.
Additionally, Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider made a release Tuesday afternoon, saying the entrance to Stratman Road at U.S. 41 will be closed to all traffic, but drivers can access Stratman via Racetrack Road or Sunset Lane. Cars will not be allowed to exit Stratman Road onto 41, it said.
The entrance to Wolf Hills Road at U. S. 41 will be open to northbound traffic only, said the release from Schneider.
Vehicles will not be allowed to exit Wolf Hills Road onto U.S. 41.
Drivers can follow Wathen Lane to Green River Road and then Watson Lane to get back to U.S. 41 from Wolf Hills Road, said the release.
Both closures were expected to take effect on Tuesday afternoon.
