CINCINNATI — Beginning Friday evening, the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge will close completely for around 10 days, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
The closure begins at 8 p.m. Friday, June 13 and the bridge will remain closed until around 5 a.m. on Monday, June 23. Pedestrian access will still be maintained during the closure, however.
During the closure, crews will work on ongoing repairs, which includes installing three modular joints on the bridge.
Drivers who typically use the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge can detour via the Brent Spence Bridge or the Taylor Southgate Bridge. KYTC says drivers should expect delays and heavier traffic on the surrounding bridges.
This repair is part of a bigger repair project that began last spring. The entire project consists of replacing joints, sealing joints, repairing steel and approach and truss drainage repairs. KYTC said repairs to modular joints and other steel repairs, like the repairs causing this weekend's closure, were added to the project to ensure the bridge "remains in good working order for years to come."
Some of this repair work would have happened earlier, according to KYTC, but a portion of the project was delayed because of the fire that seriously damaged the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, which carries I-471 across the Ohio River.
The fire damage forced a complete shutdown of the bridge, also known as the Big Mac Bridge, and traffic was diverted away from I-471, with the most convenient detour re-routing drivers across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. A traffic count analyst for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) said the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge itself saw an increase in 1,400 vehicles traveling across it in just the two weeks following the fire and subsequent lane closures on the Big Mac Bridge.
Contractors were able to return to work planned on the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge in May.
