RUSSELL, Kentucky – Blasting will resume on Friday at the new KY 244 Russell viaduct replacement project in Greenup County and will continue next week.

 

Currently, contractors excavating a hillside for the new KY 244 flyover and bridge will blast late in the day – between 3:30–4:30 p.m. on Friday, and Monday through Thursday next week from about 5:30–6 p.m.

 

Work is taking place along U.S. 23 between the Ironton-Russell bridge and Kenwood Drive (KY 750) intersections, and will require flaggers to temporarily stop all traffic on U.S. 23, the existing viaduct, and the Ironton-Russell bridge. While traffic stops will be limited to about five minutes, the highways are heavily traveled – as many as 20,000 vehicles a day use them – so motorists should seek alternate routes or prepare for lengthy delays.

 

Other traffic impacts of the KY 244 viaduct construction include:

• Southbound U.S. 23, right lane closed (one-lane traffic) between the Russell underpass and Ironton-Russell bridge.
• Kenwood Drive (KY 750) closed at the US 23 intersection. Detour via KY 207 and KY 693 (Diedrich Boulevard), or other routes.

 

The $20.6 million Russell viaduct replacement project includes building a new KY 244 looping westward from U.S. 23 to a new flyover bridge across U.S. 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 2021.

 

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.