The Kentucky Transportation Department District 6 has announced that the historic John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, linking Covington and Cincinnati, will be undergoing a scheduled inspection beginning Monday.
Inspectors will be working Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Eastern Time, with completion scheduled for Aug. 10, depending on weather.
The bridge will be closed intermittently as equipment has to be moved, and one pedestrian walkway will be closed throughout the inspection period. Six closures, of up to 60 minutes each, could occur between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and/or 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Drivers should watch for crews, equipment and signage regarding the closure. The Roebling Bridge is on KY Route 17.
The bridge was closed off and on for two years, before re-opening this spring. It was first shut down in April 2019 as a safety precaution, after sandstone fragments broke from the east side of the north tower. Temporary netting was installed, and the bridge was re-opened four months later, while the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and representatives of the State Historic Preservation Office worked to develop a long-term solution to address several issues and help preserve and protect the structure for future generations.
The bridge was closed again to cars and trucks on Feb. 15, 2021, and was to re-open on Dec. 31, once repairs were completed. However, that was delayed, after deeper masonry stone deterioration was uncovered in a section of the archway during the project, which wasn’t complete until this past April, when it opened just in time for the Cincinnati Reds season opener.
When the Roebling Bridge opened in 1867, the driver of a horse and buggy was charged a toll of 15 cents to cross; the toll for three horses and a carriage was 25 cents. Pedestrians were charged one cent. It had been the busiest of the area’s four non-freeway automobile or pedestrian bridges with 8,100 vehicles per day, until its closure for the repair project.