COVINGTON, Ky. — Exactly two weeks after a fiery crash left the Brent Spence Bridge closed to traffic, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Jim Gray provided an update on the status of repairs Wednesday morning. Gray said crews would be working on the bridge 24/7, even through the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Safety remains our number one priority on this project. We will be engaging this project, this repair project urgently, but not hastily," Gray said. "There will be no cutting corners in this project, and that is a testament to the talent and the competence of all the team working on this project." 

Gray said new steel stringer beams would be delivered to the site Wednesday to replace beams compromised during the crash. The beams, which come from a steel fabricator in Frankfort, support the bridge's upper deck. Crews are also replacing a 6,900 square-foot section of damaged concrete from the upper deck.

The steal beams being delivered to Brent Spence Bridge. Photo courtesy of KYTC.

 During the update, Gray said the area is facing a "significant traffic challenge" on top of the repairs. Traffic is being diverted from Brent Spence Bridge, which usually carries about 170,000 vehicles a day.

Last week, Gray signed an official order to deter large trucks from bypassing the longer detour and going into downtown Covington instead.

"The purpose of that is to, of course, limit commercial traffic that would otherwise be on the local streets in Covington and surrounding communities," Gray said.

While the total cost of repairs remains unknown, Gray said the U.S. Department of Transportation provided initial funding of $12 million.

An investigation into the crash in still underway, but Gray said the cabinet would "vigorously approach an accident like this for any insurable claims."

The repairs are still expected to be complete by Dec. 23.

Haeli Spears is a digital producer with Spectrum News 1 Kentucky. She is a University of Louisville graduate who started her career with Spectrum News in May, 2020.