BRIDGING THE GAP: East End Bridge Span Connects IN, KY

Milestone marks approaching December substantial completion

September, 1, 2016 – The final gap separating Louisville’s East End to Southern Indiana was closed earlier this week.

The final piece of steel was crane-lifted into the East End Bridge, a new cable-stayed bridge stretching 2,500 feet bank-to-bank over the Ohio River, just before noon Monday. Crews with Walsh-Vinci Construction marked the milestone with an evergreen tree on bridge deck, as part of a “topping out” ceremony.  The bridge is expected to open to traffic in December.

What’s Left to Complete?

The closure marks the home stretch of work for the entire East End Crossing portion of the Ohio River Bridges Project. Substantial completion of the entire East End Crossing – the new cable-stayed bridge, a 1,700 foot tunnel and 8.5 miles of new interstate connections – is scheduled by the end of 2016. Crews in Indiana and Kentucky are putting the finishing touches on the shared-use path and interstate connections on both sides of the river. In Kentucky, electrical and other installation work for the tunnel is ongoing. Electrical and lighting work makes up a piece of the remaining work on the bridge as well, as crews prepare to open the bridge for traffic before the end of the year.

Bridge Breakdown

The new stay-cabled East End bridge stretches over 2,500 feet across the Ohio River.  The cables connect to two main towers, which reached their full 300 foot height in early 2016.

The bridge is expected to open to traffic in December 2016.

• 6,670 tons – weight of the bridge deck’s structural steel
• 4,960 tons – weight of rebar used on the bridge’s main span
• 1,000 tons – weight of stay cables
• 104 – number of stay cables on the bridge’s main span
• 300 feet – height of each of the two main towers

Construction of the East End Crossing began in the summer of 2013. The project is scheduled to be completed in December of this year. It is part of the $2.3 billion Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project, which also includes a new I-65 bridge connecting Louisville, KY and Jeffersonville, IN, as well as major highway improvements on both sides of the river. Learn more about the project athttp://kyinbridges.com/

via East End Crossing http://ift.tt/2ciASTD http://ift.tt/2c84ukB