Farmers raise safety concerns after bridge closure

HENDERSON COUNTY, Ky. (WEHT) — A group of farmers say their safety is at risk because of a bridge closure. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet closed the Highway 136 bridge in May after discovering steel deterioration. The detour is Kentucky 268, which farmers say is hard to travel with their big machinery.

“This is our office. This is where we make our livelihoods. We do not like being put on the back burner,” says Cory Duncan, a farmer impacted by the bridge closure.

Duncan says he’s been left in the dark for months without answers after state officials closed the bridge on May 10th. KYTC officials say the bridge either needs to be repaired or replaced and tell us engineers are working on a solution. In the meantime, KYTC asks drivers to use Kentucky 268.

“To get down here to several hundred acres, we have to go through Geneva, so we have to go towards town, then we have to go on 268 for several miles, just to get to this,” says Jerry Long, a helper on a farm and retired firefighter.

“Do you know how long it takes us to get here, on a piece of farm equipment going 20 miles per hour,” says Charles Gabhart, another farmer who is impacted by the bridge closure.

Farmers say parts of the detour are overgrown and can damage their machines. We saw their concerns firsthand. When we went on the detour, a farmer pulled off in the weeds to let us through.

“It tears tires up,” Duncan says.

Duncan has fields near the bridge and says the closure also poses a significant safety issue.

“I’ve got a five-year-old son that likes to ride with me. One of my wife’s concerns is what would happen if myself, my son, my father, or anyone else in our operation got hurt… anything can happen. How long are we going to have to wait or sit,” Duncan says.

“On the aspect of emergency responders, there is what is called a golden hour. This means that once you are seriously injured, you’ve got an hour to get advanced life support. And not in an ambulance. At a hospital,” Long says.

As harvest season approaches, the farmers say they hope officials hear their concerns and begin to work to repair the bridge quickly.

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