A heads up for I-24 summer travelers through West Kentucky from the Transportation Cabinet:
Traffic ADVISORY
As a reminder, EASTBOUND traffic continues to be restricted to ONE LANE along Interstate 24 at the Tennessee River Bridge at the 30 mile marker in Kentucky.
I-24 eastbound traffic is restricted to one lane at the 30 mile marker due to a defective finger joint on the bridge deck. All traffic is moved to the left-hand or passing lane on the bridge.
A $1.1 million contract for replacement of the joint and other work on the bridge was issued to American Contracting & Services, Inc., on May 2, 2018. Due to close tolerance design requirements for the new joint, fabrication of a new joint is a tedious process. At this time, it appears a new joint will not be ready for the contractor to start installation until well after the July 4th Holiday. Therefore, this lane restriction will have to remain in place long-term.
Eastbound motorists traveling I24 should continue to be alert for slowing and merging traffic as they approach this lane restriction at the 30 mile marker. To aid in traffic flow at this location, motorists should start moving to the left-hand or passing lane after they pass the US 62 Exit 27 Overpass.
Some traffic delays have been evident at this site during peak travel periods each Friday afternoon and on weekends. Traffic backups of 2 to 3 miles have occasionally been observed at this site. This will especially be the case for busy July 4th Independence Day Holiday travel period.
While lane restrictions will be taken down wherever possible to prepare for the high traffic volume expected over the July 4thIndependence Day Holiday, this work zone lane restriction will have to remain in place.
To reduce the potential for delays, eastbound motorists on I-24 may choose to self-detour around this lane restriction via US 62 East and KY 453 North between I-24 Exit 27 at Calvert City and I-24 Exit 31 at Grand Rivers or I-24 Exit 40 at Eddyville.
The Interstate 24 Tennessee River Bridges are twin tied arch suspension bridges at mile point 29.352 at the Marshall-Livingston County Line.
The 2,017 ft. bridges with a 534 ft. main span are also known as the Luther Draffen Bridge. The bridges opened to traffic in 1974. The structure carries approximately 30,000 vehicles across the Tennessee River in an average day.
Timely traffic advisories for the 12 counties of KYTC Highway District 1 are available by going to www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.
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