Wednesday, March 21, 2012

River crossings

The ferry at Sistersville, W.Va., and Fly, Ohio, is scheduled to open for the season this coming weekend. According to this story, the ferry board plans to advertise the ferry service in hopes of making it a tourist stop. Good. Whenever I'm up that way, I have to cross the ferry.

 Photo copyright 2011 by me, Jim Ross. 

###

The Ohio Department of Transportation is looking at nontraditional ways of funding a replacement for the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati. Those would include naming rights, tolls and public-private partnerships. It seems the state doesn't have the estimated $2.4 billion construction cost in cash.

###

This week's e-mail included a notice about the Milton-Madison Bridge replacement project. Here is the first paragraph:

The KYTC and INDOT will hold a Public Information Meeting regarding the Milton-Madison Bridge Project on Thursday, March 22, 2012, from 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. A short presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will include an overview of the construction activities to-date, the upcoming 5-day bridge closure and planned construction activities following the 5-day bridge closure. The 5-day bridge closure is currently scheduled for April 25–29, 2012. The project team will discuss traffic patterns and detour routes planned for the 5-day bridge closure period.

This will be the first of two five-day closures. I want to be there when they take down the old bridge and when they start sliding the new bridge into place. Yes, sliding. The piers of the old bridge are being strengthened. A new bridge is being built on temporary piers next to the old one. When the new bridge is finished, the old bridge will be removed and through a method called truss sliding will be eased onto the piers.

That I gotta see.

###

Something different: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has run a four-part series on the deteriorating state of locks and dams on the Ohio River and its tributaries.

Here is a link to today's final part of the series, which has links to the earlier parts.