COVINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) says crews will work into the weekend on the Brent Spence Bridge.

What You Need To Know

  • Brent Spence Bridge could be closed for weeks or a longer

  • State and federal inspectors are looking at the bridge

  • Several detours established to help ease traffic

  • Crews spent the day clearning debris

This comes after the agency says it could take weeks if not more than a month before repairs are complete.

The Brent Spence Bridge remains closed Thursday. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and several other agencies are in the process of conducting an inspection to access the level of damage.

Detours are put in place to reroute traffic and Kenton County Officials have declared a local State of Emergency due to the severity of the disruption.

Wednesday’s incident now has a ripple effect in Northern Kentucky.

“I waited on coming across here for, I don’t know, probably added 30 minutes to my commute home last night even taking the Roebling, and now that it’s shut down it will definitely add some time to and from work,” said Matt Clarke, a Covington resident.

Covington Police Department closed the Roebling Suspension Bridge after weight concerns with the increased amount of traffic.

Crews spent Thursday finishing the debris removal and steps started to inspect the Brent Spence Bridge.

“This assessment of the bridge takes a little bit of time. We talked about some of the different things that have to occur before we can know the exact amount of damage and what it will take to repair it,” Beshear said.

At 2:45 Wednesday morning, a truck jack-knifed while driving on the lower deck on the Brent Spence Bridge.

A second truck carrying potassium hydroxide struck the jack-knifed truck which sparked a massive fire and spilled the chemical.

John Farrar is a chemistry professor at Northern Kentucky University. 

He said Potassium Hydroxide is a water-soluble compound and can cause severe burns to skin or eyes flesh if coming into contact. 

“Potassium Hydroxide is not flammable so it will not burn, so it’s not really contributing to the fire. it would complicate things,” Farrar said.

Temperatures from the fire reached upwards of 1,500 degrees. Farrar said that primarily could be due to the diesel fuel the two-semis carried.

“And then of course as we learned in 9/11, steel softens and if deformed and there is a lot of metallurgy that goes on at high temperatures,” Farrar said.

Farrar speculates that officials will spend their time checking on the steel part that supports the bridge.

“Are they still maintaining that structural integrity as they had before? Did we develop cracks because of the high heat? Those kinds of things. I don't think necessarily the Potassium Hydroxide is a primary concern of their damage to the bridge. It’s more about the high heat would be my guess,” Farrar said.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet along with the U.S Coast Guard reopened river travel on the Ohio River late Thursday. Traffic on the river was also closed off on Wednesday.

Covington officials have rerouted traffic using detours in the area. 

The KYTC also says they are working with law enforcement on both sides of the Ohio River to create a plan to reopen the Roebling to allow passenger cars.  

The KYTC has a complete list of all the detours listed on its website.