Kentucky-Illinois bridge reopens, was closed 6 days
WICKLIFFE, Ky. (AP) - A bridge linking Kentucky and Illinois has reopened almost a week after it was closed by floodwaters.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said the U.S. 51 Ohio River "Cairo" (KAY'-roe) Bridge reopened Thursday afternoon once engineers determined the roadway was safe for traffic.
The bridge carries north-south traffic between Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee on U.S. 51 and east-west traffic on U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 between Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.
The bridge has been closed since last Friday. The closure created an 80-mile (130-kilometer) detour to get from Wickliffe, Kentucky, to Cairo, Illinois, a trip that's normally 8 miles (13 kilometers).
The cabinet says an average of 4,700 vehicles cross the bridge daily between Wickliffe and Cairo.