Ohio, Kentucky memorial bridge closing for a month for maintenance

CHILLICOTHE, OH (WOWK) — Ohio and Kentucky drivers will need to rethink their commute as the Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge connecting Ironton, OH and Russell, KY is scheduled to close for a whole month for maintenance.

According to a release from the Ohio Department of Transportation, the closure will begin on Sept. 16 and will last for a full 30 days.

The scheduled maintenance will see crews milling the top layer of the road surface in order to lay down a replacement layer with new materials. This process is meant to be preformed every 10 years, though the bridge’s current layer has been in place for nearly 8 years.

“We didn’t want to wait until the surface had passed its expected lifespan to make these critical repairs,” said Ohio Department of Transportation District 9 Deputy Director Mike Dombrowski. “Doing this preventative maintenance project now means the work isn’t as extensive as it might have been had we waited.”

Due to the narrowness of the bridge, keeping one lane open would be impossible, so officials felt it would be better to shut down the bridge so that crews can perform the task all at once.

“We know this will be an inconvenience to folks who use this bridge, but we want to ensure that we’re getting the best outcome from the project to maximize the life of the bridge deck, going forward,” Dombrowski said.

During the closure, the following detours will be put into place:

• Traffic heading to Kentucky will detour to Park Avenue (SR 93), east on US 52, south over the Ohio River on the Ben Williamson Memorial Bridge (12 ^th Street) and west on Winchester Avenue (US 23) in Ashland.
• Traffic from Kentucky into Ohio will detour via Winchester Avenue (US 23) to the Simeon Willis Memorial Bridge (13 ^th Street), west on US 52, and south on Park Avenue (SR 93).

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