• January 26, 2023

In September, American Bridge Company, as a dedicated subcontractor to Jim Smith Contracting, completed the assembly and float-in of the new US 60 Cumberland River Bridge. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet slated the aging truss for replacement but needed to limit impacts to navigational traffic on the busy waterway. American Bridge assembled the 700-foot, 2,800-ton truss on barges at the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport before placing towers equipped with strand jacks alongside. The scheduled window for the five-hour trip downriver provided picture-perfect weather. Once at its final position, the truss was raised with the strand jacks and then lowered into place. The distinctive span is painted Kentucky Blue and will provide a safe, low-maintenance crossing for decades to come.