COVINGTON, Ky. — The 4th Street Bridge connecting Covington and Newport will be closed in January and demolished in the spring, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC).
In 2023, KYTC revealed four different bridge designs in consideration for the 4th Street Bridge's replacement; the agency previously announced the approved design is a three-arch bridge that will span the Licking River.
The bridge closure is estimated to begin in January 2026, with the demolition scheduled for the spring of that year. Construction is expected to take around 2 1/2 years, with the new bridge opening to traffic in the summer of 2028.
The project is expected to be completed "as early as Fall 2028," KYTC announced.
Originally, officials said they indented to build the new bridge in two phases that would allow for pedestrian and cyclist access during construction. However, now that won't be the case; KYTC says the decision to demolish the bridge was made with safety in mind.
"The complete closure of the bridge crossing will ensure pedestrians and bicyclists are not located near an active work zone," KYTC Chief District Engineer Bob Yeager said in a press release. "Additionally closing the bridge is expected to save approximately one year off the construction timeline. Expediting the reopening of this vital bridge crossing is a priority."
KYTC will operate a shuttle route to help transport pedestrians and cyclists between Newport and Covington. It will run through the duration of the bridge closure, from the spring of 2026 through summer 2028.
"This service will focus on providing a connection to basic and essential needs for these commuters — like daycare, employment and groceries," according to a press release from KYTC. "The shuttle service will provide accommodations for wheelchairs and bicycles."
More information on that shuttle will be released "in the coming months," according to KYTC.
The design of the new bridge features three steel arches that will reach 58 feet above the roadway; the bridge itself will span 446 feet cross the Licking River — nearly 200 feet longer than the span of the existing bridge, KYTC said.
The concept will carry two 12-foot wide shared-use paths separated from vehicle traffic for use by bicyclists and pedestrians.
KYTC says those shared-use paths will make the bridge an American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant structure.
Below the bridge deck, concrete piers will support the structure while framing the river itself.
The bridge itself will expand to carry four lanes of vehicle traffic, but KYTC officials said the number of lanes continuing to 4th Street into Covington will stay at two lanes. The bridge's shared-use paths will also connect with a dedicated bike lane already created on 4th Street.
Modifications and improvements have been made to the design for the intersection of Garrard and 4th Street as well, KYTC said.
According to KYTC, a traffic study done on the bridge in 2016 led to the design's incorporation of more traffic lanes.
"That study found that while three lanes would suffice for the existing traffic at that time, any additional development in Newport or Covington would require four lanes to accommodate the additional traffic," reads an FAQ on KYTC's website. "Since that time, work has started to develop the previous IRS site in Covington and there has been significant development of the Ovation site in Newport."
The 4th Street Bridge, built in the 1930s, is considered by KYTC officials to be functionally obsolete. The KYTC has planned for the past nine years to redesign the bridge.
Last May, KYTC reduced the weight limit for the bridge to 12 tons from its already-reduced limit of 17 tons.
That additional restriction added school buses to the list of vehicles prohibited from crossing, along with fire trucks, loaded garbage trucks, loaded tractor trailers and TANK buses. Traffic was also reduced to one lane in each direction.
The construction of the new bridge will fully lift those weight restrictions, according to KYTC.
KYTC says a final price tag for the bridge has not yet been determined, and will be dependent on further design refinement done by the design-build team.
