By Mark Shaffer
The Ironton Tribune

Get ready to take the long way around in a couple weeks as the Ohio Department of Transportation will be closing Ironton’s Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge for a month to resurface the bridge’s deck.
The bridge resurfacing is set to begin on Sept. 16 to restore to a new condition.
Ironton Mayor Sam Cramblit II said that while inconvenient, it is a needed.
“It is good that they are doing this type of preventative maintenance to ensure longevity on the surface there. It’s something a lot of communities should do,” he said. “I’m happy that we are getting the surface fixed every 10 years, much better than going 20 years and then it is in disrepair.”
“It is a good thing, but it is a huge inconvenience especially to the downtown community. We have a lot of people coming and going for work,” he continued. “But we just went through this a year ago with the roundabouts. It was an inconvenient as well but now it has really improved the traffic flow and the surface of the area out there. So, ultimately it is good the department of transportation is doing this. I would rather them doing this than not doing this.”
The Ohio Department of Transportation said the surfaces generally last a decade and the bridge’s surface is eight years old.
“We didn’t want to wait until the surface had passed its expected lifespan to make these critical repairs,” said ODOT District 9 Deputy director Mike Dombrowski. “Doing this preventative maintenance project now means the work isn’t as extensive as it might have been had we waited.”
Crews will mill off the top 1.25” of the roadway surface and replace it with new material.
Due to the narrow width of the bridge, a partial roadway rehabilitation that would keep one lane open was not possible. Completing the entire deck at one time will ensure a quality result and avoid future inconveniences to drivers.
“We know this will be an inconvenience to folks who use this bridge, but we want to ensure that we’re getting the best outcome from the project to maximize the life of the bridge deck, going forward,” Dombrowski said.
During the closure, traffic heading to Kentucky will detour to Park Avenue, east on U.S. 52, south over the Ohio River on the Ben Williamson Memorial Bridge (12th Street), and west on Winchester Avenue (U.S. 23) in Ashland. Traffic from Kentucky into Ohio will detour via Winchester Avenue (U.S. 23) to the Simeon Willis Memorial Bridge (13th Street), west on U.S. 52, and south on Park Avenue (State Route 93).
The bridge opened in 2016.
The cable-stayed bridge was opened in November 2016 and has an expected lifespan of 80 years. It replaced the Ironton–Russell Bridge, cantilever bridge, which was completed in 1922 and demolished in 2016.