With a $1 million preventive maintenance project now complete, Ashland’s 12th Street bridge has reopened to all traffic.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet appreciates the public's patience during this important project, and thanks the contractor for working to reopen the bridge ahead of schedule.
Contractors striped travel lane markings and switched traffic control this morning, and the bridge opened about 11:15 a.m. today. Some work to remove detour markings on the adjacent 13th Street bridge — where traffic had been rerouted since construction started in September — could continue this afternoon. Motorists should use caution.
The 1930s-era steel 12th Street bridge, officially named the Ben Williamson Memorial Bridge, carries traffic one way across the Ohio River from US 52 in Ohio to US 23 and US 60 in downtown Ashland. The bridge closed on Sept. 8 so contractors could install new deck joints and overlay the pavement with a new concrete surface to prevent deterioration of the roadway – a project designed to safeguard the bridge’s future for the 14,000 vehicles a day that rely on it.
In June, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet awarded a $988,948 contract to Delong Concrete LLC of Lexington to complete the project by Nov. 15.
(provided by Kentucky Transportation Cabinet)