PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — The aging Cairo Bridge connecting Wickliffe, Ky., and Cairo, Ill., is getting attention as a study begins to determine whether it needs to be replaced or rebuilt.
The bridge carries about 5,400 vehicles a day over the Ohio River along U.S. 51, 60 and 62.
At 76 years old, it is considered “functionally obsolete” because it doesn’t meet modern traffic standards.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says  the bridge carries a high percentage of commercial truck traffic and the nearest alternate requires a two-hour detour.
Cabinet employees will be conducting traffic counts, evaluating bridge conditions and investigating environmental and community resources in the study area.
The study will help the cabinet determine whether to rehabilitate the existing span, build a new one or, perhaps, do nothing at all.

Published in The Messenger 2.19.13