Steel work to impact US 23 traffic at Russell Viaduct project in Greenup

GREENUP COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – Motorists should expect delays and intermittent stopped traffic on US 23 at Russell this week for steel work on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s KY 244 viaduct replacement project in Greenup County.

Beginning Wednesday, March 3, and continuing through Friday, March 5, steelworkers will offload and attach girders to newly-built concrete piers on each side of US 23 that will form the final link of the new KY 244 bridge.

Because work will occur over US 23 travel lanes, crews will stop all traffic on the highway for at least 15 minutes when cranes lift beams from trucks and place them overhead. Contractors plan to place steel beams four times Wednesday and Thursday, and two times Friday. In addition, US 23 will be restricted to one lane each direction.

The temporary traffic stops will occur between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day. While crews will try to keep traffic impacts brief, significant backups are likely on the heavily-traveled highway – as many as 20,000 vehicles a day use US 23 – as well as on the Ironton-Russell bridge.

Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes during construction:

• Through traffic, such as between Columbus-Portsmouth, Ohio, and Ashland-Louisa-Pikeville, may cross over to US 52 in Ohio using the Portsmouth bridges, Greenup Locks and Dam, and Ashland bridges, or West Virginia bridges and I-64.
• Through traffic to or from I-64 may use the Industrial Parkway (KY 67) via Exit 179 east of Grayson. Traffic from I-64 to Ashland should use Exit 180 or Exit 185 interchanges and US 60.
• Local traffic may use KY 693 (Diedrich Boulevard), KY 207, or KY 750 through Flatwoods.

In addition, while traffic remains flowing on the existing KY 244 viaduct into downtown Russell, there is now a 13-foot height restriction on the bridge where it crosses under the new bridge beams.

The $20.6 million Russell viaduct replacement project includes building a new KY 244 looping westward from US 23 to a new flyover bridge across US 23 and the railroad tracks on the river side to touch down where the old viaduct bridge connects to Bellefonte Street in downtown Russell.

Construction will continue through this summer. To learn more, view flyover diagrams and get project updates, link to District 9’s “Russell Viaduct Project” at https://transportation.ky.gov/DistrictNine or bookmark the web page at https://transportation.ky.gov/DistrictNine/Pages/RussellViaduct.aspx.