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PADUCAH, Ky. (April 25, 2023) - The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans a daytime closure of the U.S. 51 Ohio River "Cairo" Bridge connecting Kentucky and Illinois on Monday, May 1, 2023.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge will be closed to all traffic from 9 a.m., to 2:30 p.m., CDT, on Monday to allow navigation light work and other bridge maintenance work that cannot be completed when the bridge is open to traffic.
This daytime closure of the U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge creates about a 50-mile detour through Southern Illinois via the Interstate 24 Ohio River Bridge between Paducah and Metropolis.
In addition to U.S. 51, the bridge also carries U.S. 60, and U.S. 62 traffic across the Ohio River at U.S. 51 Kentucky mile point 7.372.
Also known as The Cairo Bridge, the structure carries approximately 5,500 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Wickliffe, KY, and Cairo, IL. About 35 percent of those vehicles are commercial trucks. It is the longest bridge in Kentucky and the westernmost bridge over the Ohio River.
The U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge was constructed by the Cairo Bridge Commission as a toll facility and opened to traffic on November 11, 1936. Tolls were removed from the crossing on November 11, 1948, when the highway departments of Kentucky and Illinois took over maintenance of the structure.
The Cairo-Wickliffe Bridge is at Ohio River navigation mile point 980.4.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are planning the construction of a new bridge at this site. For more info on the new bridge planning process go to https://us51bridge.com/.
To get traffic advisories and alerts for KYTC District 1 counties via email please go to https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/KYTC/signup/13651. Click on the District 1 counties you regularly drive through, or on any of the specialty corridors you travel. Check your SPAM filtering to assure Gov Delivery is on your approved list.
