Tuesday, December 26, 2017

River news update


A quick roundup of Ohio River-related news from throughout the valley:

People in the Evansville area hope 2018 is the year that progress is made on getting a new bridge across the Ohio. Just getting a final decision on the bridge's location could take two years. But when you're spending hundreds of millions of dollars and you're dealing with several federal and state agencies, things take time.

Meanwhile, construction could begin in 2018 on a new bridge at Wellsburg, W.Va. It will be the second network tied arch design over the Ohio. The first was the Blennerhassett Bridge below Parkersburg, W.Va. The new Wellsburg bridge will be the first "basket handle" design over the Ohio. The bridge deck will be suspended from arches that incline toward each other rather than stand vertically.


Illustration courtesy WV Division of Highways.

Tolls from the new bridges in Louisville brought in more money this year than expected. I'm not a fan of tolls, but when big bridges in big cities cost big money — $1 billion or more — something has to give.

And although it's not along the river itself, some river communities in the Ashland, Ky., area should benefit with the upcoming construction of a $1.3 billion aluminum rolling mill by Braidy Industries near Ashland. An article in Kentucky Today has the details.


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