Madison-Milton Bridge

Went by the bridge on September 15th and it was as open as ever. Must not have been closed long.

As of September 14th the bridge is closed to traffic as a precaution due to reports that pieces of concrete were blown off by the recent wind storms. It will remain closed until the Transportation Cabinet can inspect it and declare it safe.

Here is a link to the news story about it

http://www.fox41.com/Global/story.asp?S=9007167

As of September 14th this bridge is closed due to reports of concrete being blown off by the recent wind storm. It will be closed until it can be inspected and declared safe.

Here are a couple of very interesting historical pictures of the bridge. The first one is construction of the bridge in 1928. The second picture is the from the first year the bridge was opened in 1929. Some interesting facts, the first person to cross the bridge was an 11 year old boy on a bicycle. The first vehicle to cross was a greyhound bus.

No pedestrians are allowed on this bridge.

State and Federal Governments constantly argue over where the funding of such projects should originate. But one can rest assured that if the bridge were to be suddenly rendered unusable - or collapse, God forbid, funding would somehow be found to replace it immediately. Why doesn't the State of Kentucky simply float a 20-30 year bond for their portion of the cost to replace the bridge, and the recover the cost by assessing tolls from those who use it, much like they did when the bridge was first erected?

In 2008-2009 this bridge will be 80 yrs old. It has a rating of 40.10 that is totally unacceptable. It's frightening that every day hundreds of cars cross this bridge and it is deemed to be that unsafe.

I fortunatly do no have to cross this bridge very often except to visit family, but every time I do my heart is in my throat wondering if it will collaspe like the Silver Bridge did into the Ohio River in 1967 or the Minn. bridge did on Aug 1st 2007 into the Mississippi River.

What does it take to replace this bridge?? The thing falling in like the Silver Bridge or the Minn. one with dozens of people hurt & killed??? I blame this on the Govenor of both IN & KY, the state DOT in both state and any one else who is blocking the replacement of this bridge. If it falls in, any one who is killed, their blood is on your hands.

I live in Madison,have all my life, This bridge is so unsafe,Our Mayor has been trying forever to get a new one started but this belongs to Kentucky and they say there is no money available, a group of kids did a report on it 2 yrs ago took pictures of the rusted out bolts and beams on this thing when traffic crosses it you can see them wiggle back and forth, Why cant we get something done before we end up like those poor people in Minnesota? Kentucky says they will put it in a 10yr plan.Please help us this is the only bridge that crosses the river for a 40 mile stretch in either direction it was built in 1928-29 not built for all the heavy traffic it carries everyday.

As of Aug 2006, Indiana and Kentucky have funded the environmental and engineering studies to begin the process of replacing this bridge with a modern structure. Location, design and cost for the new bridge may be shaping up to be a bone of contention. The fate of the current structure is also in question. Some interest in converting it to a pedestrian bridge has been expressed.