A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Barge strikes US 45 Ohio River Brookport Bridge at Paducah, minor damage, traffic maintained


The U.S. Coast Guard reported that a barge hit on the U.S. 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge at Paducah Sunday morning.

A tow boat pushing eight empty barges scraped a pier on the main Kentucky span of the structure.

Brookport Bridge (photo courtesy of KYTC)

The Coast Guard immediately contacted the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to dispatch a certified bridge inspector to run a safety check on the bridge. 

Due to the minor nature of the pier scrape highway traffic was allowed to continue on the bridge. 

A KY Transportation Cabinet certified bridge inspector completed a safety check on the U.S. 45 Ohio River “Brookport” Bridge at Paducah around 1 p.m., Sunday.

The inspection found no indication of damage to the bridge structure.

Also known as the Brookport Bridge and the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge, the US 45 Ohio River

The 10-span bridge carries approximately 5,100 vehicles across the Ohio River each day between Paducah, KY, and Brookport, IL.

The 5,385 ft. structure at Ohio River navigation mile point 937.3 was opened to traffic in 1929. Due to deck width, the bridge has a 15-ton load limit.

It is currently restricted to vehicles no more than 8 feet wide and has a 9 ft. 6 in. vehicle height restriction, which prohibits most commercial trucks and prohibits all STAA Trucks.

Farm equipment and permitted loads of any kind are prohibited from crossing the structure.

Additional information is available here.

KYTC


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