A bridge on Chapel Hill Road in Crittenden County has been ordered closed by inspectors from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
According to District 1 spokesman Keith Todd, Crooked Creek Bridge was ordered closed Monday morning when an inspector found further deterioration of the bridge substructure. The bridge, along Chapel Hill Road between the Marion City Water Plant entrance and Earl Patmore Road, had previously been restricted to a
3-ton load limit.
Todd indicates the Crittenden County Road Department has posted appropriate signage.
Crittenden County Fiscal Court has already sought bids to reconstruct the bridge and Todd says a contractor had started delivering equipment to the site to prepare for repairs to start.
Crittenden County Judge-Executive Perry Newcom said the contractor has indicated that weather permitting, the repairs could be completed in about 30 days.
Judge Newcom noted the repair plan calls for removing beams from the bridge, encasing the steel pilings in concrete, adding wing-walls to protect the bridge from erosion, then replacing the deck beams to allow the bridge to reopen to traffic.
Todd reported Crittenden County had applied for KYTC Department of Rural and Municipal Aid emergency funds to assist with 80 percent of the repair cost. He said a percentage of the statewide aid funds are held in a special account to assist cities and counties with such emergencies.
