COVINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is closing the entire 12th Street Bridge, also known as the Girl Scout Bridge, as officials perform emergency repair work, officials announced Monday afternoon.
KYTC said police notified officials of a potential issue with a bridge joint on Monday. Bridge inspectors and engineers then closed the structure out of an abundance of caution while crews use hydraulic jacks to temporarily lift the bridge before placing new bridge bearings.
The bearings, KYTC said, will provide support and flexibility, allowing the bridge to adjust to things like temperature changes and traffic loads.
Officials said the work could take up to one week, with the bridge expected to reopen Monday, Oct. 27.
The closure is in place on E. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Wheeler Avenue in Covington and at the intersection with Brighton Street in Newport. Drivers are asked to find an alternate route. However, vehicles exceeding a certain weight will not be able to travel on the Roebling Suspension Bridge and Licking River Bridge, which both have a reduced weight limit.
This news comes two weeks after KYTC announced it would begin work on the reconfiguration of the 12th Street Bridge. After the work is done, the bridge will have one vehicle lane in each direction "with a bike lane separated by a buffer that includes vertical delineators utilizing the remaining width on each side of the bridge." Reconfiguration work was only expected to force single lane closures.
KYTC said it will post on social media once the bridge has reopened.
