Glover Cary Bridge
Encyclopedia
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Continuous truss bridge
A continuous truss bridge is a truss bridge which extends without hinges or joints across three or more supports. A continuous truss bridge may use less material than a series of simple trusses because a continuous truss distributes live loads across all the spans; in a series of simple trusses,...
that spans the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
between Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...
and Spencer County, Indiana
Spencer County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,391 people, 7,569 households, and 5,752 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 8,333 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
. It was named for the late U.S. Congressman Glover H. Cary
Glover H. Cary
Glover H. Cary was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky.He was born in Calhoun, McLean County, Kentucky in 1885. He attended public and private schools and Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He was employed as deputy clerk, bank cashier, and newspaper editor...
(1885–1936), and opened to traffic in September 1940. It was originally a toll bridge, but tolls were discontinued in 1954.
The bridge was funded through a $1.03 million federal grant, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
program, and public fundraising efforts. At first, the bridge connected Kentucky Highway 75 to Indiana Highway 75; in 1954, Kentucky 75 was redesignated U.S. Highway 431 and Indiana 75 became U.S. Highway 231.
In the fall of 2002, when the William H. Natcher Bridge
William H. Natcher Bridge
The William H. Natcher Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that carries U.S. Highway 231 over the Ohio River. The bridge connects Owensboro, Kentucky to Rockport, Indiana and opened on October 21, 2002. It is named in honor of William Huston Natcher, a former United States Representative who served...
was completed, U.S. 231 was rerouted onto that bridge and the former U.S. highway became the southern leg of an extended State Road 161.
The bridge was closed temporarily for a day and a half the weekend of March 13, 2011, due to the need for emergency repairs to the bridge deck with traffic temporarily detoured over the William H. Natcher Bridge
William H. Natcher Bridge
The William H. Natcher Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that carries U.S. Highway 231 over the Ohio River. The bridge connects Owensboro, Kentucky to Rockport, Indiana and opened on October 21, 2002. It is named in honor of William Huston Natcher, a former United States Representative who served...
. Following that emergency repair, transportaiton officials pressed ahead with planning and design on a full-depth deck rehab that was already scheduled for bidding in April 2011.
In early 2011, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is Kentucky's state-funded agency charged with building and maintaining U.S...
renumbered the highway across the bridge (which was U.S. 231 from 1954 to 2002 and Kentucky State Route 2155 thereafter) as Kentucky State Route 2262, which is a newly-designated state highway that follows J.R. Miller Boulevard from Kentucky State Route 54 to the Indiana state line. Kentucky 2155 now terminates at the intersection of J.R. Miller Blvd. and East Fifth Street.
Color
Local residents call the Cary Bridge the "Blue Bridge" because of its color. The Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro's newspaper) sponsored a straw poll vote to determine what color to paint the bridge. Not surprisingly, blue was the overwhelming winner. Kentucky and Indiana highway officials have indicated the bridge is scheduled for repainting in about 2017 at an estimated cost of 8 to 10 million dollars.Condition of the Blue Bridge
Following the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota in August 2007, Kentucky officials (including Governor Ernie FletcherErnie Fletcher
Ernest Lee "Ernie" Fletcher is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. In 1999, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th governor of Kentucky and served in that office...
), sought to reassure motorists that Kentucky's bridges are safe by conducting a special safety review of all long-span bridges at that time. The blue bridge was subject to a detailed biennial inspection in August 2008. Kentucky and Indiana highway officials conducted a joint walk-through inspection of the structure on September 22, 2008.
On July 5, 2011, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet closed the blue bridge to all traffic for a $3 million partial rehab of the bridge deck after a large hole developed in the concrete driving surface. Hall Contracting of Louisville was the prime contractor on the 3-month project. The project, which saw 40% of the bridge's deck replaced, was completed and the bridge reopened to traffic on September 30, 2011—three days prior to the October 3 deadline imposed by KYTC on the contractor.
Prior to its reopening, the bridge was opened to pedestrians and bicyclists for "Bridge Day" on Sept. 30; thousands of visitors crossed the 72-year-old span between the hours of 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, when crews began preparing to reopen the bridge to auto traffic, which occurred at 6:30 PM.