By Mark Shaffer
The Ironton Tribune

In good news for people trying to get from Ironton into Kentucky, the Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge is open.
The bridge was reopened on Thursday around noon, roughly two weeks ahead of schedule. The bridge closed on Sept. 23 and was expected to be closed until Oct. 23.
Mikaela Bruning, the public information officer for Ohio Department of Transportation District 9, said crews were “trucking along” on the work thanks to unseasonably nice fall weather.
“We’ve had great weather, other than the remnants of Helene,” Bruning said. On Sept. 27, high winds and rain from Hurricane Helene hit the Tri-State and work on the bridge was stopped for the day. “Our hope is that they could potentially get it done before Oct. 23. That has been our goal the whole time.”
Crews milled off the top 1.25” of the concrete roadway and replaced it with new material.
ODOT has said bridge surfaces generally last about a decade and while the surface of the Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge is eight years old, this preventative maintenance project is being done now as that the work isn’t as extensive as it might have been if they waited another two years.
Bruning said that the deck had been inspected recently and it was found that the mixture ODOT uses to melt snow and ice had penetrated into the deck and that would start impacting the concrete.
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.
The Oakley C. Collins Memorial 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.