Repairs to northbound bridge finished ahead of schedule
FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 1, 2014) – An emergency bridge repair in southeast Kentucky that wasn’t projected to be completed until mid-August has been finished ahead of schedule – just in time to meet demands for holiday traffic.
Intech Contracting, under the supervision of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), finished repairs to the I-75 bridge over Lynn Camp Creek at the Laurel-Whitley county line (mile point 27) on Saturday, June 28.
The effort by Intech Contracting, along with the engineers in the Department of Highways District 11 office, will allow Fourth of July travelers to be spared at least one construction zone headache this holiday weekend.
The northbound side of the bridge was reduced to one lane on June 4 after a crack in the main girder was found by KYTC bridge inspectors during a scheduled examination. Repairs were not expected to be completed until mid-August.
“This is a great example of teams working together toward a common goal – the safety of the traveling public,” KYTC Secretary Mike Hancock said. “The efforts by everyone involved resulted in a quicker repair and less headaches for drivers. We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome of this project.”
Mike Calebs, branch manager for project delivery for the Department of Highways District 11, also wished to thank those involved with expediting design work for the repair project and the contractor for moving quickly to initiate repairs.
“Everyone associated with this project worked together to assure an efficient response,” Calebs said. “Opening the closed lane of I-75 means a lot to the 35,000-plus vehicles that travel daily during this busy summer season. To repair a cracked main girder within four weeks is quite a testament to Intech Contracting and the Transportation Cabinet employees who worked together to get the job done ahead of schedule.”
Sherri Chappell, chief district engineer for the Department of Highways District 11, echoed Calebs’ sentiments.
“Their diligence and genuine passion for the highways and motorists certainly shows,” she said. “The effort, expedience, quality and hard work are always appreciated.”
The repairs consisted of supplying large steel plates over the cracked girders and bolting the steel plates together with more than 250 one-inch diameter, high strength, steel bolts.
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