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| KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CABINET IMAGE |
After an initial check of the fallen approach spans on the Old Ledbetter Bridge, inspectors found one of the approach spans is still elevated. The section attached to the main truss is suspended above the ground supported by one land-based pier that is standing but severely leaning.
Due to the inability to fully evaluate the two fallen sections of the approach in the darkness, inspectors plan to await the aid of daylight when they will be able to make a better assessment.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet personnel continue to urge the public to avoid areas around the bridge due to continued instability and land slippage along the bluff.
Area law enforcement agencies have secured the site until assessment efforts can continue after sunrise.
We hope to have an update around 1 p.m. Sunday.
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Sensors placed on the bridge indicated the approaches dropped at 2:07 a.m.
The approach spans had significant movement during the early morning hours Friday and had continued to move a few inches a couple of times a day since then.
After the approach spans slid to the ground this morning, transportation officials immediately contacted the US Coast Guard to alert tow boats in the area. The Coast Guard had already advised boats to avoid stopping in the river near the bridge and bluff.
At this time Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 Engineers and inspectors are running an initial safety check on the main truss over the Tennessee River navigation channel to assure that it was not damaged by the approach collapse.
After daylight they plan to conduct a full inspection of the main truss spans. A full inspection of the truss spans Sunday morning would be expected to take about four to six hours to complete.
The 83-year-old structure has been closed since the end of July 2013 when U.S. 60 highway traffic was moved to the new U.S. 60 Tennessee River Bridge upstream.
Late this week a contractor had started marshaling equipment at the site to prepare for demolition of the old bridge over the next six months. A small crane and track hoe were on-site with parts of a 200-ton crane expected to start arriving for assembly over the next three or four days.
On Friday, inspectors indicated the girder siting atop South Pier 2 on the upstream side was hanging on by just inches. While decking on the three approach spans had remained standing, the deck sections had dropped several feet since movement along the bluff at the west end of the bridge was discovered on April 30. Due to continuing land slippage since then, an old concreted stairway about 50 yards upstream from the bridge that inspectors initially used to access the lower portion of the bridge has gone down the bluff, as well as a utility pole that provided power to the bridge. Engineers had placed solar powered navigation lights in the structure to help maintain river traffic.
Kentucky Transportation officials continue to warn the public to avoid areas along the bluff and Tennessee River shoreline near the bridge as they assess the stability of the bluff and the fallen approaches.
Also known as the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, the old Ledbetter Bridge was opened to traffic in 1931 connecting Livingston County and McCracken County between Ledbetter and Paducah. It has been closed since traffic moved to the new U.S. 60 Tennessee River Bridge at the end of July 2013.
