The concept will carry two 12-foot wide shared-use paths separated from vehicle traffic for use by bicyclists and pedestrians.
The design of the new bridge features three steel arches that will reach 58 feet above the roadway; the bridge itself will span 446 feet cross the Licking River — nearly 200 feet longer than the span of the existing bridge, KYTC said.
Below the bridge deck, concrete piers will support the structure while framing the river itself.
“We’re excited to share the final bridge type selection,” said KYTC Secretary Jim Gray in a release about the project’s details. “The arch concept features a signature aesthetic design that considers the surrounding environment, including the nearby historic neighborhoods of Newport and Covington. Drivers and pedestrians can look forward to separate shared-use paths and four lanes that will accommodate traffic in this growing, vibrant region for decades to come.”
The bridge itself will expand to carry four lanes of vehicle traffic, but KYTC officials said the number of lanes continuing to 4th Street into Covington will stay at two lanes. The intersection of Garrard and 4th Street will be reconfigured.
According to KYTC, a traffic study done on the bridge in 2016 led to the design’s incorporation of more traffic lanes.
“That study found that while three lanes would suffice for the existing traffic at that time, any additional development in Newport or Covington would require four lanes to accommodate the additional traffic,” reads an FAQ on KYTC’s website. “Since that time, work has started to develop the previous IRS site in Covington and there has been significant development of the Ovation site in Newport.”
According to plans released in December, the bridge closure is estimated to begin in January 2026, with the demolition scheduled for the spring of that year. Construction is expected to take around 2 1/2 years, with the new bridge opening to traffic in the summer of 2028.
Currently, the design-build team will use the approved arch design to work on a final configuration for approaches to the bridge. KYTC said it’s during this process and the design refinements where things like traffic calming measures will be identified and implemented into the finalized design.
When the bridge closes, pedestrian and cyclist access will also be closed until new bridge opens. KYTC will operate a free shuttle route to help transport pedestrians and cyclists between Newport and Kentucky.
“This service will focus on providing a connection to basic and essential needs for these commuters — like daycare, employment and groceries,” a KYTC site about the project says. “The shuttle service will provide accommodations for wheelchairs and bicycles.”
More information on that shuttle will be released this fall, according to KYTC.
The 4th Street Bridge, built in the 1930s, is considered by KYTC officials to be functionally obsolete. The KYTC has planned for the past nine years to redesign the bridge.
Last May, KYTC reduced the weight limit for the bridge to 12 tons from its already-reduced limit of 17 tons.
That additional restriction added school buses to the list of vehicles prohibited from crossing, along with fire trucks, loaded garbage trucks, loaded tractor trailers and TANK buses. Traffic was also reduced to one lane in each direction.
The construction of the new bridge will fully lift those weight restrictions, according to KYTC.
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