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Kentucky
officials announce
kickoff of bridge study
Two
communities are united
in effort to get bridge built
Staff
Report
(September 2008) The Kentucky Transportation
Cabinet and the Indiana Department of Transportation on Aug.
26 announced the kickoff of the Milton-Madison Bridge Study.
The project will examine the need for the rehabilitation or
replacement of the aging U.S. Hwy. 421 span with an affordable
Ohio River bridge that safely connects the historic communities
of Milton, Ky., and Madison, Ind.
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Photo
by Don Ward
The
Ohio River Bridge spans nearly
one mile between Milton, Ky.,
and Madison, Ind.
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We are united with our friends in Milton
when it comes to getting the bridge issue resolved. We plan
on moving forward together, said Madison Mayor Tim Armstrong.
Approximately 10,000 vehicles cross the narrow 79-year-old
bridge each day. KYTC inspections have found the bridge to
be structurally deficient and functionally obsolete; it is
too narrow to handle todays trucks. The nearest bridges
to Milton and Madison are 46 miles downstream in Louisville
and 26 miles upstream near Vevay, Ind.
The Milton-Madison Bridge Project will be managed with sensitivity
to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshears new Practical
Solutions initiative, which calls for renewed financial
scrutiny of road and bridge projects without compromising
safety.
We will continuously evaluate the cost of this project
as it progresses to make sure it remains financially feasible,
said Rob Martin, KYTC project manager for the Milton-Madison
Bridge Project.
The Milton-Madison Bridge Study will take approximately three
years and $5 million to complete the preliminary design and
environmental studies.
The goals for the initial phases of the project are:
Selection of a bridge location;
Identification of an affordable bridge type;
Completion of a federal environmental study.
As with any major project that receives federal funding, the
Milton-Madison Bridge Project must comply with certain federal
regulations. The National Environmental Policy Act requires
that the impact on the human and natural environment be considered
in the decision-making process.
One of our main goals over the next few years is to
prepare a NEPA study and get it approved, said Steve
Smith, INDOTs Milton-Madison Bridge Project manager.
The project doesnt move forward without it.
When possible, the Milton-Madison Bridge Project will build
upon a 1995 study of the U.S. Hwy. 421 bridge conducted by
KYTC and INDOT. Since no consensus on a new bridge location
could be reached in the study, the decision was made to invest
$10 million in improvements to the existing bridge.
We did a rehab on the bridge in 1997. It put a
Band-Aid on the problem and now its time to do this
thing right, explained Trimble County Judge-Executive
Randy Stevens.
The approach to the Milton-Madison Bridge Project will be
guided by the need to address the important issue of historic
resources on both sides of the Ohio River. In 2006, the downtown
area of Madison was designated a National Historic Landmark
District. Milton, founded in 1789, is one of the oldest towns
in the Commonwealth and has two designated historic districts.
The project will involve the communities of Milton and Madison
through public meetings, the first of which will be held in
early 2009. A local Project Advisory Group will provide input
to the decision-making process by KYTC and INDOT. The group
will consist of representatives for property owners, various
interest groups and community leaders.
KYTC is the lead agency in this bi-state effort. Wilbur Smith
Associates of Lexington, Ky., was chosen by both states to
provide the consultant engineering and environmental services
for this project. WSA will lead a team of 13 firms to complete
this project.
The project website, www.miltonmadisonbridge.com, is under
construction. Once established, it will house project updates,
meeting information and public documents.
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