2nd Street bridge without tarp

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- All lanes of the Clark Memorial Bridge, also known as the Second Street Bridge, reopened early Monday more than a month ahead of schedule.  

According to a news release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the bridge reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic at 5 a.m., after crews completed the repainting project that began in February 2018. 

"I'm so excited. I'm happy. Very, very happy," said Susan Hug, who lives in Clarksville, Indiana and works in downtown Louisville.

She's been forced to sit in traffic or take toll bridges to get to work but now that the Second Street Bridge is fully operational, she said her commute Monday morning was a breeze. 

"There was zero traffic, zero slowing down, it was great," she said.

The span that connects downtown Louisville to southern Indiana was originally scheduled to be closed until November of this year, but KYTC officials say favorable weather helped crews complete the work sooner than expected.

"It hadn't rained in three weeks until today -- three-and-a-half weeks I think until today -- so not only can they not paint in the rain, they can't paint after it rains for a certain amount of time, too," said KYTC chief engineer Matt Bullock. "So the last three weeks have been really quick hits."

In September 2018, KYTC officials began closing the bridge nightly from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., because of a high number of crashes in the work zone. That also contributed to an early completion date for the project. 

"Touch-up work is all they were really doing the last few weeks," said Bullock.

The last time the bridge was completely repainted was in the 1980s.

Related:

Copyright 2019 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.