From Department of Highways District 1 (Sept. 1, 2009):

Preparations for New Bridge Require Closure of US 62/US 641 Across Kentucky Dam Starting September 9th
Closure to allow temporary connections to last about 3 weeks

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. — A contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to temporarily close US 62 and US 641 across Kentucky Dam starting Wednesday, September 9th, 2009, to begin preliminary road work required to tie in a new Tennessee River Bridge being constructed below the dam.

US 62 and US 641 will be closed from the US 641/KY 282 Interchange at US 62 mile point 11.023 at the west end of the dam to the KY 453/Dover Road Interchange near the 1 mile marker in Livingston County. The closure is scheduled to starting at approximately 8:00 a.m., CDT, on Wednesday, September 9th. A marked detour will be provided via Interstate 24.

According to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 Chief District Engineer Jim LeFevre, this is the first round of work required to make connections to the new bridge.

“We realize this temporary closure of US 62 at the Marshall-Livingston County line between Grand Rivers and Gilbertsville will be a major inconvenience to area commuters and tourists visiting the lakes area. However, this preliminary work is necessary to start the process of connecting traffic to the new bridge,” LeFevre said. “The Corps of Engineers expects the new bridge to be ready for traffic sometime after the first of next year. To be prepared for that timetable the contractor needs to construct temporary roadway connections this fall.”

Approximately 6,000 vehicles travel US 62 and US 641 across Kentucky Dam in an average day. LeFevre says completing highway connections to the new bridge will require another temporary closure sometime in later in the year.

“Right now, we want to provide plenty of advance notice so everyone can be prepared for this temporary closure of US 62 and US 641 across Kentucky Dam starting September 9th,” LeFevre said.

US 62 and US 641 currently travel atop Kentucky Dam to cross the Tennessee River. Traffic is being moved to the new bridge to prepare for future construction of a new lock at the east end of Kentucky Dam. The project also includes moving P&L Railroad tracks off the dam and over to a new railroad bridge that runs parallel to the new highway river crossing.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Engineer Tony Ellis says to stay on track to open the bridge in early 2010, the preliminary road work for the approaches had to be completed this fall.

“The dirt work and paving required to prepare for the eventual opening of the new bridge has to be completed before the end of this construction season,” Ellis said. “If we waited until winter weather hit it would be difficult to get the connections completed until late Spring of next year. We appreciate the patience of the public as we go about this work.”

US 62/US 641 traffic will detour via Interstate 24 and KY 453 between Grand Rivers and Kentucky Dam Village State Park at Gilbertsville. Weather permitting, the work is expected to take about three weeks to complete. Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers is the contractor for the bridge approach work.

See also: us 62 641 closure detour.pdf