BOONE COUNTY, Ky. — Drivers in the Tri-State will have to deal with some more bridge restrictions.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) announced Tuesday that it has implemented lane restrictions on the I-275 Carroll Cropper Memorial Bridge.
KYTC said the lane restrictions are a precaution to prevent further damage to the Boone County bridge after steel deterioration was found during a recent inspection.
Beginning Tuesday, the right lane in both the westbound and eastbound directions will be closed indefinitely. The westbound lane closure will begin approximately one mile before the bridge, and it will extend across the entire bridge length. The eastbound closure will only cover a small portion of the bridge.
KYTC is also issuing weight limits for large emergency vehicles:
- Single Axle: 16 tons
- Tandem Axle: 23 tons
- Gross Weight: 31 tons
Commercial vehicle traffic is not impacted because semi-trucks have more axles to distribute the weight, KYTC said.
Any overweight or over-dimensional vehicles are not permitted on the bridge at this time.
Repairs to the bridge are set to be added to a previously scheduled steel repair project that is expected to begin in January.
KYTC said it will provide a timeline for the repairs after contractors inspect the bridge, but a spokesperson said the lane restrictions could last through May.
More than 40,000 people take the bridge every day, so closing down half the lanes on the bridge has impacted commuters, particularly in southeast Indiana.
"As far as I know, no one was expecting it," said Matt Davis, who lives in Lawrenceburg. "So it's definitely kind of been a headache."
Alternative routes that have been suggested are US-50, or taking I-275 over to I-74. But for drivers like Davis, that's still not a full solution.
"I think, at the end of the day, it's still going to be fastest to go across the bridge," said Davis.
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