Starting in early August, the U.S. 51 Ohio River Cairo Bridge will be closed for an extended period due to extensive maintenance.

Starting sometime during the week of Aug. 3-9, 2020, the bridge is expected to be closed for approximately 30 days to allow workers to perform extensive maintenance work along a nearly 2-mile section of the Kentucky approach levee and the ongoing bridge deck maintenance project.

The bridge, which carries U.S. 51, U.S. 60, and U.S. 62 traffic across the Ohio River between Wickliffe, Kentucky, and Cairo, Illinois, sees approximately 7,000 vehicles crossing the bridge in an average day, with 35% of that being commercial trucks.

The bridge work zone continues to be restricted to one-lane traffic with a maximum 8½-foot load width. Motorists and truckers will encounter a 2,900-foot section of one-lane traffic controlled by an automated signal on the main span of the bridge. The target completion date for all work on the bridge and approach levee is October 1, 2020.