Contractors began marking detour routes today for the seven-month closure and painting of the Carl D. Perkins Memorial Bridge at South Portsmouth.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet project, a complicated job requiring specialized equipment and 12,000 gallons of industrial-grade paint, is focused on preserving the bridge for the thousands of travelers who use it daily to cross from KY 8 and US 23 in Greenup County to US 52, Ohio 73 and US 23 in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Steel bridges are regularly re-painted to prevent rust or corrosion from weakening the support structure. But, it’s not like painting a house.
For the Carl Perkins Bridge, a 3,000-foot span crossing the Ohio River, specialty contractors will rig thousands of feet of scaffolding and climbing ropes to reach every inch of the bridge’s 600,000 square feet of supporting steel – all of which will be sandblasted then painted with both primer and paint. Where crews are working, the entire bridge will be wrapped in tarps to prevent air and water contamination.
It will take seven months to reach each piece of steel, complete the two paint applications and perform the needed detail work around thousands of bolts and connector plates to ensure there are no exposed steel surfaces.
When finished, the new paint job – gray to match the existing paint color – will protect the bridge from the elements for as long as 20 more years.
U.S. Grant Bridge Detour
The painting project requires closure of the Carl Perkins Bridge to all traffic beginning Wednesday, April 15, through Nov. 15.
The decision was made to close it rather than keeping one lane open because maintaining traffic during the job would have required painting half the structure at a time – which would have doubled the time needed, created lengthy traffic delays and increased the cost.
During the bridge closure, all traffic between Kentucky and Ohio will be detoured across the U.S. Grant Bridge (US 23) – the nearby cable-stayed bridge to downtown Portsmouth – along these routes (some of which follow existing traffic patterns):
Traffic Changes – In Kentucky
– Traffic on KY 8 East or US 23 North: Cars and commercial trucks should follow US 23 North across the Grant bridge, then either turn left on Second Street to access Ohio 73 to West Portsmouth-Hillsboro and US 52 West toward Cincinnati or veer right to stay on US 23 North (Gay Street) toward Columbus or to access US 52 East toward Ironton.
Traffic Changes – In Ohio
– Traffic on US 23 South or US 52 West coming from Columbus or Ironton: Cars should follow existing signs for US 23 South (Washington Street) to the Grant bridge; commercial trucks should use the existing US 23 Truck Route, follow existing “Kentucky” signs, then detour via Ohio 73 East to Second Street to the Grant bridge.
– Traffic on US 52 East, Ohio 73 or Ohio 104 coming from Cincinnati, Hillsboro or West Portsmouth: Follow existing “Kentucky” signs or US 23 Truck Route signs to detour via Ohio 73 East to Second Street to the Grant bridge.
Detour routes are subject to change if floodwater affects Ohio 73 off ramps. All thru traffic and commercial vehicles should avoid Chillicothe Street (Business US 23) in Portsmouth due to brick pavement and narrow lanes.
The project was awarded to Vimas Painting Co. Inc., under a $6,875,100 Kentucky Transportation Cabinet low-bid contract.
For safety reasons, the public is advised to stay off the bridge during the project. Vehicle and pedestrian access is prohibited.
From the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet