• May 20, 2022

American Bridge and Jim Smith Construction are working together to finish the new U.S. 60 Cumberland River Bridge in Smithland, Kentucky. The bridge construction resumed on Monday at the U.S. 60/KY 70 intersection with another concrete pour on the main pier.

AB is finishing up assembling the structural steel for the 700’ main truss. AB assembled the truss on barges at the Paducah River. Once this truss is completed and painted, AB will then transport the truss in September to the bridge site to be jacked into place on the piers. After the truss is jacked into place another concrete deck will be poured on the main span. The new Cumberland Bridge is expected to be up and ready for traffic in the late spring of 2023.

Despite some weather delays in the fall and winter, the project is running two months ahead of schedule. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet engineers have developed a new work schedule for the project.

The new Cumberland Bridge will provide a significant transportation connection for local Livingston County traffic, as the Cumberland River splits the county. This will provide a way for drivers, bikers, pedestrians, busses, and emergency vehicles to get across the river. The Cumberland Bridge will have a 40’ wide, two-lane deck with 12’ driving lanes and 6’ shoulders, also making it accessible for almost all farm equipment, without stopping the oncoming traffic. The existing Cumberland Bridge is known as the Lucky Jefferson Lewis Memorial Bridge, which opened to traffic in 1931. Learn more about the new Cumberland Bridge and AB’s part in this innovative project at the link below.