From Kentucky Tranportation Cabinet Department of Highways District 9 (Sept. 12, 2012):

Officials cut ribbon on Main Street bridge in downtown Greenup
Project represents $6.2 million investment

GREENUP, Ky. – Transportation Cabinet officials joined state legislators and community leaders today to cut the ribbon on Greenup’s new Main Street bridge, celebrating a $6.2 million investment in northeast Kentucky infrastructure.

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From Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Highways District 9:

Adopt-a-Highway groups poised to ‘summer scrub’ roadsides, help preserve scenic beauty of the commonwealth
Spring Clean Week in northeast Kentucky is June 6-12

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Volunteers will be out in force soon to “summer scrub” state highways throughout Kentucky. The Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has announced that the Adopt-a-Highway Summer Scrub Week will be held June 6-12.

“The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet appreciates the efforts of our Adopt-a-Highway volunteers who help keep our highways and communities beautiful and litter-free,” Acting Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said.

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At nearly $110 million, the low bid for constructing a new bridge across the Ohio River at Russell came in well above the Ohio Department of Transportation’s estimates: Ashland Daily Independent: $110M bid for new bridge puts funding in question (Jan. 13, 2006) 

The Ohio Department of Transportation has delayed the opening of bids for the Ironton-Russell Bridge project; however, the delay is not expected to affect the beginning of construction which is scheduled for spring 2006: Ashland Daily Independent: Bids for Ironton-Russell Bridge delayed (Nov. 6, 2005) 

The Federal Aviation Administration has raised concerns that a proposed cable-stayed bridge across the Ohio River between Ironton, Ohio and Russell, Kentucky might interfere with navigation to a nearby airport. The $68 million bridge will replace the current Ironton-Russell Bridge, a narrow, two-lane structure which was completed in 1922.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: New bridge work could be delayed (July 14, 2005) , Ashland Daily Independent: FAA approves bridge (July 17, 2005) 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will demolish a historic bridge in Greenup after all. Concern from the public caused the cabinet to reconsider demolishing the bridge–which is on the National Registrar of Historic Places; however, no one came forward to offer to maintain the bridge, so it will be demolished to make way for a replacement. The current bridge has been closed since 2003 when an inspection found it was unsafe to carry traffic.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: State to build new bridge in Greenup (June 6, 2005) 

Progress is once again visible on the U.S. Grant Bridge south of Portsmouth, Ohio. A new bridge is being constructed over the Ohio River on the site of a bridge demolished in 2001. The Ohio Department of Transportation has a scheduled opening date of October 31, 2006 for the new bridge.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Bridge to Portsmouth shows signs of progress (May 19, 2005) 

Last week the Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Division of Driver Safety held “Operation Drive Smart Blitz” along the AA Highway: Maysville Ledger Idependent: Campaign to enforce traffic safety on the AA Highway coming May 8-14: Operation Drive Smart Blitz (May 4, 2005) , Cincinnati Enquirer: AA Hwy. patrols beefed up (May 8, 2005) , Ashland Daily Independent: State pushes drive smart on A-A (May 12, 2005) 

The Ohio Department of Transportation has announced that the new U.S. Grant Bridge over the Ohio River at Portsmouth, Ohio should be open to traffic in late-2006. The new cable-stayed bridge for US 23 was originally to be opened in 2004.

More information: Ashland Daily-Independent: ODOT: Grant bridge back on track (March 9, 2005) 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet recently held a meeting in Greenup to discuss options for the replacement of an aging bridge at the city’s west end. The bridge which was constructed in 1884 and has been closed to traffic—due to structural decay—since at least 2003. Three options for replacing the bridge were presented:

1. No build. Routine maintenance would continue to be performed on the routes which remain open. $0.
2. Main Street Bridge Replacement. The bridge on KY 2541 would be replaced. $2 million.
3. Washington Street Reconstruction. Main Street (KY 2) would be rebuilt. $1.4 million.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Meeting set to discuss bridge replacement (March 5, 2005) , Ashland Daily Independent: Residents voice opinions about 121-year-old Greenup County bridge (March 8, 2005) 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will hold an “Open House” style public meeting to present proposed alternatives for the replacement of the Main Street Bridge over the Little Sandy River in Greenup. The meeting will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. March 7, 2005: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet: Bridge and Approaches for Main St at Little Sandy River 

Records show that US 23 is the state’s deadliest roadway: Lexington Herald-Leader: Memorials every few miles on U.S. Highway 23 (Jan. 9, 2005) 

The Greenup County Fiscal Court has passed a resolution asking the state to investigate the intersection between US 23 and the AA Highway near Grays Branch. There have been numerous accidents at the intersection and Greenup County Commissioner Tony Quillen believes the turning radius at the intersection is too small: Ashland Daily Independent: Official asks state to examine junction (Dec. 27, 2004) 

A chemical leak at a DuPont plant near Wurtland forced the closure of roads in the area: Associated Press: Highway closed during chemical leak from DuPont plant (Oct. 11, 2004) 

Gov. Fletcher and Transportation Secretary Bailey have appointed chief highway engineers for nine of the Division of Highways' twelve districts.

• Edward “Ted” Merryman has been appointed as Chief Highway Engineer for districts 1 and 2. Previously, Merryman was chief highway engineer for district 2. [more information ]
• Greg Meredith has been reappointed as Chief Highway Engineer for district 2. [more information ]
• Gary M. Raymer, P.E. has been appointed as Chief Highway Engineer for district 4. [more information ]
• David Jones, P.E. has been appointed as Chief Highway Engineer for district 6. [more information ]
• Jim Rummage, P.E. has been appointed as Chief Highway Engineer for district 7. [more information ]
• Katrina O. Bradley, P.E. has been appointed as Chief Highway Engineer for district 9. [more information ]
• Samuel H. Beverage, P.E. has been appointed as Chief Highway Engineer for districts 10 and 11. [ more information ]

More information: WKYT: Gov. Fletcher Hires New Highway Engineers (June 29, 2004) , Associated Press: Fletcher appoints top highway engineers (June 30, 2004) , Hardin County News-Enterprise: Highway engineer appointed in E'town (June 30, 2004) , Maysville Ledger-Independent: New KTC Engineer Sees District as Unique (July 2, 2004) 

A festival this weekend marked the 150th anniversary of Bennett’s Mill Covered Bridge. The bridge is located off of KY 7 in Greenup County. The festivities were marred by vandals who spray painted the interior of the bridge and a landslide that closed part of KY 7: Ashland Daily Independent: Bennett's Mill Covered Bridge celebrates 150th anniversary (May 31, 2004) 

Dave Honan  has contributed photographs of several bridges over the Ohio River:

• Illinois Central (Canadian National) Railroad Bridge at Cairo, Illinois
• Illinois Central (Canadian National) Railroad Bridge at Metropolis, Illinois
• CSX Transportation Railroad Bridge at Henderson, Kentucky
• Carl D. Perkins Bridge over the Ohio River at Portsmouth, Ohio
• CSX Transportation Railroad Bridge at Sileam, Kentucky
• CSX Transportation Railroad Bridge at Siloam, Kentucky

Additionally, he has provided several photographs of a section of the US 119 relocation project in Pike County.

You can find more of his bridge and railroad photography on Dave’s website .

Thanks for the contribution Dave!

On May 28 through May 30, the Greenup County Tourism and Convention Commission will hold a festival at the Bennett's Mill covered bridge. The bridge is located about eight miles from South Shore along KY 7.

More information: Daily Independent: Festival to mark covered bridge's span of time (May 20, 2004) 

Transportation Cabinet Secretary Bailey told state legislators on Wednesday that no projects were cut from this year's version of the Six Year Highway plan; however, some projects have delayed due to the states budget problems.

The list of projects is too long to list here; however, some notable projects are listed below.

• $118 million for the Louisville-Southern Indiana Bridges Project. Some of this money will be raised by selling bonds that would be repaid when promised federal funding is allocated for the project.
• $78 million for reconstruction of the Owensboro bypass to the east of its current alignment. This is meant to improve access to the William H. Natcher Bridge.
• Widening of I-64 from Louisville to Shelbyville.
• Widening of I-65 from the Tennessee State Line to Bowling Green.
• Widening of I-75 in Scott and Grant counties.
• Southern extensions of both the Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway and the William H. Natcher Parwkay.

A notable absence from the list is funding for replacing the I-71/I-75 Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River; however, the project remains on the unscheduled needs list and officials claim that it is still a priority. Construction on the project is still over a decade away.

This year the transportation cabinet has split the list into projects that will receive federal funding and projects that will not receive federal funding. Projects that will be funded only by the state are expected to be delayed and will be prioritized by need.

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The Transportation Cabinet will begin providing funds to county road agencies using a new formula. Greenup County Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter feared that this new formula might result in a $200,000 cut to his county's road funds; however, the state says that it will still be paying the same amount. The new plan will spread the funds out over the course of the fiscal year, instead of the lump sum payments used previously.

More information: Ashland Daily-Independent: No cuts in road funds, state says (Feb. 12, 2004) 

Update (Feb. 20, 2004): More information concerning the reaction of Casey County: Danville Advocate Messenger: Casey accepts state road maintenance plan (Feb. 17, 2004) 

Greenup County faces the lost of $200,000 in highway funding this year due to state budge cuts: Ashland Daily-Independent: Looming budget cuts have county on edge (Feb. 9, 2004) 

The city of Greenup plans to conduct a survey to determine how local residents feel about the one lane bridge over the mouth of the Little Sandy River. The bridge, which was built in 1884, is slated for demolition later this year.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Survey says ... Greenup seeks opinions on historic bridge (Feb. 5, 2004) 

The Ohio Department of Transportation has once again this year announced that if temperatures drop below -5 degrees Fahrenheit, the Ironton-Russell Bridge will be closed until warmer weather returns.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Ironton Russell Bridge may close (Jan. 16, 2004) 

Local residents have stepped up efforts to save a one-lane bridge over the mouth of the Little Sandy River. The bridge, built in 1884, was recently closed after it was deemed unsafe for traffic. The transportation cabinet plans to demolish the bridge and replace the span later in 2004.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Effort to save bridge gets into high gear (Dec. 11, 2003) 

The transportation cabinet will dismantle a one-lane steel bridge over the Little Sandy River in Greenup despite some protests. The span, constructed in the 1880s, has been closed to traffic due to structural decay. The span will be replaced sometime in 2004 or 2005.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Little Sandy Bridge will remain closed to traffic (Nov. 14, 2003) 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officially unveiled the restored Bennett's Mill covered bridge over Tygarts Creek in Greenup County near KY 7.

More information: KYTC Press Release: Restored Covered Bridge in Greenup County Unveiled to Public (Nov. 6, 2003) 

The Ohio Department of Transportation plans to soon release more information about the design of a new bridge over the Ohio River between Russell, Kentucky and Ironton, Ohio. The bridge will be a cable-stayed bridge.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: New bridge project enters design phase (Oct. 6, 2003) 

Bennett's Mill Covered Bridge over Tygarts Creek could be reopened by Nov. 1. The bridge, originally construction in 1850, was closed and dismantled in 2001. Under contract with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Intech Contracting reconstructed the bridge to historic specification and using as much of the real bridge as possible.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Under Construction (Oct. 3, 2003) , Associated Press: Covered bridge rebuilding begins (Oct. 4, 2003) 

The section of the Northeastern Kentucky Industrial Parkway between KY 207 and US 23 at Wurtland opened on Thursday, Sept. 25. The two lane highway connecting I-64 to US 23 is intended to provide improved access to industrial development in Greenup County.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Industrial Parkway opens today (Sept. 25, 2003) , Ashland Daily Independent: 'It's a 50-year investment' (Sept. 26, 2003) 

The last few months have seen the renaming of two parkways and the AA Highway. The Kentucky Post editorialized the situation: Kentucky Post: The name game (Sept. 17, 2003) 

Pond Run Road, which is part of both KY 244 and KY 750, north of US 23 in Raceland will see improvements thanks to a $300,000 grant from the federal government. The road will be widened from US 23 to the tunnels underneath the CSX rail yard. Widening on part of KY 750 south of US 23 was completed last year.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Expansion set for north side of Pond Run (Aug. 11, 2003) 

On Wednesday, state officials re-dedicated the AA Highway in honor of former Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. Brown was governor from 1979 to 1983 and was influential in the construction of the highway across northern Kentucky.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: A-A Highway dedicated ... again (July 24, 2004) , Kentucky Post: Take your pick: the AA, JYB or Ky. 9 (July 23, 2003) , Kentucky Transportation Cabinet: Governor Patton Dedicates AA Highway to former Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. (July 23, 2004) 

Two-hundred-and-sixty-two photographs of Kentucky's roads have been added to this website. The new photo galleries include:

• Bridges of the Ohio River - Several of Kentucky's 40 bridges across the Ohio River.
• William H. Harsha Bridge Photographs - Photographs of Kentucky's first cable stayed bridge: the William H. Harsha bridge near Maysville.
• I-64 - Sherman Minton Bridge - The I-64 and US 150 bridge over the Ohio River in Louisville.
• Shortway Bridge - The Old KY 1120 bridge over the Licking River between Kenton and Campbell Counties.
• I-65 - John F. Kennedy Bridge - The I-65 bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville.
• US 31 - George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge (Second Street Bridge) - The US 31 bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville.
• I-65 - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 30 - Miscellaneous Images - Photographs of the new section of KY 30 under construction in Laurel County.
• I-65 Warren County Construction - June 29, 2001
• I-65 Warren County Construction - May 22, 2002
• I-65 Warren County Construction - August 15, 2002
• I-65 Warren County Construction - July 5, 2003
• I-75 - Miscellaneous Images - Includes photographs of I-75 widening projects south of Lexington.
• William H. Natcher Bridge - October 26, 2002
• William H. Natcher Bridge - February 8, 2003
• Louisville - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 3 and KY 645 - Inez - January 3, 2003
• AA Highway - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 67 - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 80 - Miscellaneous Images - Along KY 80 in Pulaski and Laurel Counties.
• KY 101 and KY 259 - Edmonson County - November 18, 2001 - A new section of KY 259 and KY 101 under construction in Edmonson County.
• US 23 - Miscellaneous Images
• US 60 - Miscellaneous Images - Photographs of the Cumberland and Tennessee River bridges.

A few new images have been added to the KentuckyRoads.com - Miscellaneous Signs and KentuckyRoads.com - General Images galleries as well.

The Bennett's Mill bridge, a covered bridge which has crossed Tygarts Creek in Greenup County since the 1850s, will not be returned to the county this month. In interest of historic accuracy, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is re-evaluating the design of the bridge. New information has lead some to believe that the camber of the bridge is less than what had originally been thought.

The bridge connects East Tygarts Creek Road and KY 7. The bridge was closed to traffic by county officials in 2001 when it was noticed that the bridge was listing. The bridge was removed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and transported to Lexington for historic preservation work. Officials said the bridge needed to be removed because internal supports were deteriorating. The preservation contract specifies that the project should use as much of the original lumber as possible.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Return of bridge delayed (July 21, 2003) 

The Ohio Department of Transportation installed falcon birdhouses on the Ironton-Russell Bridge. The birdhouses were placed on the opposite of the bridge from the sidewalk to discourage interaction between the birds and pedestrians on the bridge.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent: Falcon nests planned on bridge (March 13, 2003) 

The Ohio Department of Transportation has been monitoring the temperature of the Ironton-Russell Bridge. The steel on the aging bridge becomes very brittle when it reaches low temperatures. If the temperature drops below minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit, ODOT will temporarily close the bridge.

More information: Daily Independent: ODOT monitoring Ironton - Russell Bridge temperature (Jan. 25, 2003) 

In related news, progress is being made on plans to replace the bridge. ODOT's plans for a new bridge have recently been approved by the Federal Highway Administration.

More information: The Herald-Dispatch: Impact study for new bridge completed (Jan. 27, 2003) 

A bridge on Diederich Boulevard (KY 693) over White Oak Creek in Russell has been renamed in honor of Beverly "Verly" Miller. Miller was killed in action in 1944. The bridge is located on property that was once part of the Miller family farm.

More information: Daily Independent: Russell bridge dedicated to hero (Aug. 22, 2002) 

According to this article  from the Ashland Daily Independent the third and final phase of the Northeastern Kentucky Industrial Parkway is expected to open by August. The 14 mile two-lane road known as KY 67 will connect I-64 to the EastPark industrial site.

Recent flooding has caused damage to a small county road that connects the AA Highway and US 23 in Greenup County, according to this Daily Independent article .

The city of Russell has decline an offering from the Ohio Department of Transportation to take over the Ironton-Russell Bridge. ODOT is planning on replacing and demolishing the bridge by 2008. The 80-year old bridge costs nearly $100,000 per year to inspect and the Russell city council came to the conclusion that this was well beyond the city's budget.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent, Feb. 13, 2002 .

This Ashland Daily Independent article  discusses the possibility of constructing a new bridge to connect Irontown, Ohio and Russell, Kentucky. Thanks for the pointer from Sherman .

This Ashland Daily Independent article  reports that the KYTC is seeking to replace a one lane bridge over Little Sandy into Greenup. Several public meetings have been held and work is expected to begin in late 2002 or early 2003.