KY Lake Bridge Closed - US68/KY80

Turtle · Jan 27, 2012

Two spans of the Eggner Ferry Bridge, which carries U.S. 68 and Ky. 80 over Kentucky Lake between Aurora (just outside Murray) and the Land Between the Lakes, were destroyed Thursday night by the way too tall cargo ship Delta Mariner.

Pieces of the Eggner Ferry Bridge on U.S. 68 at Aurora, Ky.,
can be seen Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, strewn across the front
of the motor vessel Delta Mariner as it sits at the site of a
Thursday accident. The huge cargo ship, carrying aviation
parts, struck the main span of the bridge Thursday evening.
Two spans of the heavily-traveled bridge collapsed.
According to initial reports, there were no injuries and no
cars on the bridge at the time of the accident. The bridge
carries approximately 2,800 vehicles across the lake per day.
(AP Photo/Murray Ledger & Times, Greg Travis) / Greg Travis/AP

Not many expediters run that road, but if you get off I-24 at Cadiz to go to Murray, you're probably going that route. You'll have to stay on I-24 to the Purchase Parkway at Benton and then down US 641 to Murray. Google Map of the Location

Full story here: Ship too tall to clear Kentucky Lake bridge, officials say | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com

scottm4211 · Jan 27, 2012

Measure twice, sail once

highway star · Jan 27, 2012

Do ya think he might have gone to the same ship's captain school as that cruise ship guy?

How in the world does something like that happen?

Turtle · Jan 27, 2012

I really don't know. I've been across that bridge a million times. Been under it on a boat about as many times. Likely, however, that ship itself has been under that bridge more than I have. It's not your average barge, and it stands out every time you see it. And I've seen it a lot.

That ship picks up Boeing Delta IV rocket boosters and other rocket parts from the plant in Decatur, AL and comes up through there all the time. It goes to the Gulf of Mexico and then to Cape Canaveral or to California via the Panama Canal. He tried to go under Span E, and if he'd just gone under Span C, which is the main shipping channel, he'd have cleared it with plenty of room to spare. Same as always.

The bridge is actually in the process of being replaced. Preconstruction work began months ago. They haven't done anything to the bridge itself, yet, because other stuff needs to be done first. They redid the road that goes through the LBL (Land Between the Lakes), from two-lane to divided four-lane, and you can see where the new road endings are where they will place the new bridge when they start constructing it. Maybe this will speed up that process, I dunno.