The 1998 bridge replaced the truss of the 1946 hih-level bridge [HistoricBridges_new]
The old bridge:
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| Street View, May 2023 |
1869 Bridge:
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| HistoricBridges_old, Source: Kentucky Digital Library [Historic Bridges gives this bridge its highest rating of 10/10 for both National and Local significance..] This 1869 bridge has cast iron truss members. And the Warren truss is pin-connected. "Warren trusses usually have riveted connections.....The bridge was built in 1869 for the Richmond and Lexington Turnpike. The bridge was purchased by the State of Kentucky in 1929 and became part of US-25 until a larger high level bridge was built to realign US-25 in 1946. Since then, the cast iron truss has carried local traffic only. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1955. At some point, the top of the pier was removed and replaced with concrete. The primary substructure material is stone, although concrete has been used to repair the abutments as well." |
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| HistoricBridges_new |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted and kyphotoarchive_1944 "The Clays Ferry bridge was under construction over the Kentucky River in November 1944. The task of laying superstructural steel work on the pylons was done by the Mount Vernon Bridge Co. of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The structural work was started from the Fayette County side of the river and rose at a three percent incline to the Madison side. This slight grade can be seen in the photo. The bridge was 280 feet [85m] high at river level, the highest structure of its kind east of the Mississippi River at the time, and was more than 1,500 feet [457m] long. Published in the Lexington Leader." (Kentucky Photo Archive) [You can see the old truss in the background.] |
HistoricBridges_new explains that a parallel bridge was added in 1963. Then in 1998, when they replaced the trusses, they added the solid center piers and turned two 2-lane bridges into one 6-lane bridge.
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| Street View, Apr 2023 |
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| kyphotoarchive_1989, photo by Charles Bertrarn "The bridge on the right was built in 1946 as a link over the Kentucky for U.S. 25. The bridge at left was added in 1963, and the two bridges became part of I-75." |
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| HamburgJournal "The Clays Ferry overlook wall was built in 1934, as a scenic overlook on the Old Dixie Highway." The bridge is 250' (76m) above the Kentucky River. |
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| 1 of several photos on Bridges & Tunnels Construction started in 1941, but it was slow because it competed with the war for steel and workers. In 1944, only 20 employees were working on the bridge. [This webpage has a detailed history of the bridges.] |
B&T mentioned that the old bridge is just one lane, so I took a closer look. That is quite a bit of traffic for a one lane bridge.
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| Street View, May 2023 |
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