Ohio, Kentucky bridge closing delayed one week

IRONTON, OH (WOWK) — The start of a project that will close the Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge has been pushed back a week, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The maintenance on the bridge connecting Ironton, Ohio, and Russell, Kentucky, was originally scheduled to begin on Sept. 16. It will now begin on Sept. 23. No reason for the date change has been given.

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

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.

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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