2nd Street Bridge partially reopens Saturday after 4-vehicle crash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Clark Memorial Bridge reopened around 5 p.m. Saturday after a crash closed the bridge for more than a day.

Engineers finished inspecting the bridge and said the majority of the damage is to the sidewalk, so drivers were allowed back on it.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg was joined by officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet as he announced the planned reopening during a news briefing Saturday afternoon. The bridge was closed in both directions since a four-vehicle crash sent a semitruck through safety barriers that left it dangling over the Ohio River.

The driver was trapped inside for about 45 minutes before Louisville firefighters pulled her to safety. For 30 hours, the Second Street Bridge remained closed in both directions.

"It was pretty wild to see from where we were," said Brelin Tilford, who works nearby.

James Ballinger with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said crews have "completed a thorough examination of the bridge's superstructure. They've looked at it above and below the roadway deck. They've examined the structural steel and the damaged sidewalk, and all of the connecting supporting structure there."

Ballinger said the assessment completed Saturday morning confirmed that "the bridge is safe for vehicular travel" and the bridge's structural integrity has not been compromised.

"Most of the damage was confined to the sidewalk structure, which is the supporting part that's only used for pedestrians not the vehicular traffic," Ballinger said.

Ballinger said three lanes of the bridge will reopen. The southbound left lane, and both northbound lanes, were estimated to reopen by 6.p.m. Saturday. Both sidewalks will remain closed to pedestrian travel until repairs have been completed. Traffic control devices are being placed to allow for the reopening.

"This is not expected to be a long-term closure, and we will provide more details as we have repair plans and the actual construction takes place," Ballinger, said.

"The way that that was this now open again as quickly as it is it's pretty impressive," Tilford said.

"Where the accident occurred and where the truck is dangling over the bridge, there are multiple barricades," Greenberg said.

KYTC officials inspected the bridge top to bottom Friday night and Saturday morning.

"The assessment confirms that the bridge is safe for vehicular travel," Ballinger, said.

"I'm sure they've done their due diligence to make sure it's safe," Tilford said.

One person remains in the hospital. Everyone else involved has been released.

"It's good that, like I said, this situation that could have been a tragic turn into a heroic one," Tilford, said.

There are no cameras on the bridge. Officials said this was a chain reaction crash and the semi-truck did not cause the initial impact.

The investigation is still on-going. For now, no charges have been filed.

Millions of drivers have used the Second Street Bridge over the years.

Ballinger said after "a quick review of the crash data [it] indicates that we've had less than 20 roadway departures or other crashes of this type with the structure in the last five years. That's a timespan when an estimated 40 million vehicles across this bridge."

Greenberg thanked bridge inspectors who worked until 9 p.m. Friday and returned early Saturday to make sure the bridge is safe and sound.

Greenberg also asked that people planning to travel downtown for events plan extra time. "Make a plan for how you're going to get to and from downtown. There will likely be delays."

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