Will be open evenings, overnight

The Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge will be closed during the day from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. today until Friday, so Ohio Department of Transportation crews can inspect it.

The bridge open to evening and overnight travel..

Traffic will be detoured via U.S. 52 and the 13th Street/Simeon Willis Bridge between Coal Grove and Ashland, Kentucky.

The 12th Street/Ben Williamson Memorial Bridge in Ashland will remain closed for a rehabilitation project by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. During construction, all traffic, both north and southbound, is being routed in one lane in each direction via the 13th Street/Simeon Willis Bridge. Throughout the project, motorists may encounter some periods of delay, especially during peak travel times.

Even though the bridge is only a couple years old, ODOT’s Office of Structural Engineering does a routine inspection annually on every bridge the agency maintains.

The bridge will be closed because of the size of the “snooper” used during the inspection. A snooper is an Aspen bucket truck that the inspectors use to look the whole bridge over.

It allows inspectors to go up into the towers and cables and to look over and under the bridge so they can examine everything.

The snooper allows the crew of two to get up to 60 feet under the bridge. There will also be people physically inspecting the towers and other areas they can reach.