A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans an overnight closure of the eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 today.
The eastbound lanes of I-24 will be closed to allow a concrete pour for installation of new joints on the I-24 Tennessee River Bridge at the 30-mile marker at the Livingston-Marshall County line. The eastbound lanes of I-24 will be closed and traffic detoured starting at 6 p.m. and continuing to approximately 6 a.m. Thursday.
Eastbound traffic will detour between U.S. 62 Calvert City Exit 27 and Ky. 453 Grand Rivers Exit 31. To help reduce delays along this detour, motorists may consider a detour along I-69 South from I-24 Exit 25 to U.S. 68 East to return to I-24 at Cadiz Exit 65.
There should be no impact on westbound traffic during this closure of the eastbound lanes of I-24 at the 30-mile marker tonight
This eastbound closure of I-24 on tonight is the first of about four overnight closures that will be required to facilitate installation of new joints on I-24 Tennessee River Bridge. Once this concrete pour is completed, the contractor anticipates another overnight closure in about a week to 10 days. The contractor will attempt to provide timely advance notice of these overnight closures as they are scheduled.
American Contracting & Services of Jeffersonville, Ind., is the prime contractor on this $1.1 million bridge joint replacement project. The contractor encountered a number of engineering issues during the fabrication of new joints for the bridge deck that has delayed completion of the work beyond the original target completion date of Nov. 15, 2018. The delay required the work zone to stay up during the busy holiday travel period.
State Rep. Lynn Bechler, R-Marion, told The Crittenden Press that the contractor is facing a fine of $2,400 for each day project completion extends beyond Nov. 15.
The Interstate 24 Tennessee River Bridge consists of twin tied arch suspension structures at mile point 29.352 at the Marshall-Livingston County line. The 2,017-foot structures with a 534-foot main span are also known as the Luther Draffen Bridge. The I-24 Tennessee River Bridge opened to traffic in 1974. The bridge carries approximately 30,000 vehicles across the Tennessee River in an average day.
