KYTC is the lead agency in the study and consultant CDM Smith will coordinate a team of six firms, including Michael Baker and Palmer Engineering, to provide engineering and environmental services.
The 76-year-old structure, which carries U.S. 60 and U.S. 62, is officially termed ‘functionally obsolete’ because it does not meet current traffic standards. The driving width of the bridge deck is less 7m and it carries a high percentage of commercial truck traffic.
"The Cairo Bridge continues to be an important transportation link for nearby communities in Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri, as well as for cross-country travel," said Mike McGregor, project manager for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. "The study goal is to identify options for a constructible and affordable bridge that will maintain the reliability this important crossing into the future."
McGregor said that this is a long-range process, putting construction of any suggested option years into the future.
Several options will be considered including rehabilitation of the existing bridge, replacement in its current location, a new bridge in a new location and a no-build or ‘do-nothing’ alternative.
