COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The reopening date of the John A. Roebling Bridge between Covington, Ky., and Cincinnati is delayed again.
Kathy Popplewell said she hears the frustration from her neighbors in Covington about the Roebling Bridge remaining closed to vehicle traffic for almost a full year. But t a walking path on the bridge is open, and she’s not that mad about it.
“I actually kind of like it with no cars,” she said, laughing. “I’d rather them take their time and get it right. It’s an old bridge. It’s got a lot of history here.”
There certainly is a lot of history.
The iconic bridge was the longest in the world when it first opened in 1867, according to the Covington-Cincinnati Suspension Bridge Committee, a citizens’ group dedicated to the bridge’s preservation. It is now one of several bridges over the Ohio River in the region, but still regularly carries over 8,000 vehicles a day.
Popplewell’s is one of those, “probably two or three times a week,” she said.
The delays stem from a $4.7 million restoration project, which included roadwork on the approaches, repairing 2,700 square feet of stonework on the towers and new copper roofs.
Roebling Bridge Update
— KYTC District 6 (@KYTCDistrict6) January 19, 2022
The reopening to traffic will NOT happen on Jan. 24 as planned.
The winter weather has delayed concrete reaching its full strength on the southside approach. At this time, we can not provide a specific opening date. @CityOfCincy @covingtonkygov pic.twitter.com/Xi5DzYDJ4v
The suspension bridge has been closed since Feb. 15. It was originally scheduled to reopen in November, but engineers determined additional repairs were needed. Other nearby bridges have served as detours.
The next target date was January 24th, but the bridge did not reopen as planned because winter weather has delayed concrete reaching its full strength on the south side approach, the Kentucky Department of Transportation said in a statement. It wasn’t immediately clear when the span would reopen. Officials said they would announce the new date when it was confirmed.
“We’re hoping that it’ll reach its strength here very soon, and we’ll get the bridge back open to traffic,” said KYTC spokesperson Nancy Wood. “We know that it still impacts folks who live in Covington, and travel back and forth over to Cincinnati.”
Wood said she hopes people’s frustration about not having the bridge in the short term will be offset by keeping it viable for generations to come.
“This bridge has been carrying people for 155 years, and we’ve got to take care of our elders,” she said.
KYTC said it will announce a new opening date when the concrete is at full strength. Drivers can expect additional lane closures this summer for some fine tuning.
The Associated Press contributed to this story