COVINGTON, Ky. — The Brent Spence Bridge will be one step closer to normal soon. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) on Friday announced a reopening schedule to restore full travel across the lower, northbound deck of the bridge.

A substantial maintenance project to clean and paint the bridge began March 1, forcing the cloture of two lanes across both decks of the bridge. The upper deck fully reopened at the end of October.

Depending on weather this weekend, crews will be finishing up work to restore all northbound travel by 4 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 8. KYTC confirmed the tentative weekend schedule in a press release.

“In March, when we began this routine maintenance project to clean and paint the Brent Spence Bridge, we committed to the public that we would work methodically and efficiently to complete our work and restore the full movement of travel as quickly as possible,” said Bob Yeager, Chief District Engineer of KYTC’s District 6 office. “It feels really good to know that we met that commitment – even finishing this important work a little early.”

More than 35,000 gallons of paint were used to cover more than 1.5 million square feet of surface area for the maintenance project. In addition to cleaning and painting, crews completed other routine maintenance tasks, including drainage work, signage repairs, and replacing interstate emblems on the roadway surface.

Yeager added that some minor detail work will continue under the bridge over the next several days but will not impact traffic.

“We have a few minor touch-up items to complete, but we didn’t want that to stop us from getting the northbound deck back open,” he said.

While crews are working to restore northbound traffic to its original configuration, drivers should expect significant delays. Seeking an alternate route when possible would be wise.

Here's the full, weather-dependent schedule for reopening I-71/75 northbound on the Brent Spence Bridge:

Friday, Nov. 5 - Saturday, Nov. 6:

Beginning at 10 p.m., travel will be reduced to a single lane on I-71/75 northbound. Crews will work to remove a barrier wall, and the two right lanes of travel will reopen by 8 a.m., Saturday morning. 

Saturday, Nov. 6 - Sunday, Nov. 7:

Travel will be reduced to a single lane on I-71/75 northbound at 10 p.m. Rolling roadblocks will be put into place during re-striping and installation of pavement tattoos. Law enforcement officers will be in place just south of the bridge on I-71/75 northbound and will hold traffic in 15-minute increments. Travel delays are likely.

By 6 a.m., Sunday morning, all northbound traffic will be restored to its original configuration.  

• All four lanes of travel will be open on the northbound deck of the Brent Spence Bridge
• The on-ramp to I-71/75 northbound from Fourth St. in Covington will be open

Following the full reopening of all lanes of travel, only short-term temporary nightly closures will be put into place to allow crews to complete final maintenance tasks.

Sunday, Nov. 7 – Monday, Nov. 8:

Beginning at 10 p.m., travel will be reduced to a single lane on I-71/75 northbound and on-ramp to I-71/75 northbound from Fourth St. in Covington will be closed. Crews will install overhead signage and additional pavement tattoos.

All four lanes of travel, as well as the on-ramp to I-71/75 northbound, will reopen to traffic by 4 a.m., Monday morning.