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OH-KY Bridge Project Gets Underway

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A bridge connecting two communities in two different states across the Ohio River is being replaced.

The Ironton-Russell Bridge replacement project will relocate the bridge to between Second and Jefferson streets in downtown Ironton and the US 23 viaduct south of Russell.
 
The project also includes demolition of the existing bridge upon completion of the new structure.
 
State officials from Ohio and Kentucky were at the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday to commemorate the project's start and pay tribute to the existing bridge.
 
Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jerry Wray says private life depends on public infrastructure, but public infrastructure deteriorates with time.
 
"Bridges don't get better with age and pavements don't get better with age. So, they take constant maintenance and preservation and rehabilitation and eventually, they have to be replaced," said Wray.
 
Ohio Gov. John Kasich will work with Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear on the project.
 
Kasich says it's important to have good relationships with the state's neighbors.
 
"We're going to do everything we can to work together to make sure we can build a healthier and more prosperous southern Ohio, and God bless y'all," said Kasich.
 
The project has a four-year window for total completion, with an interim completion in the fall of 2015.
 
ODOT awarded a contract in January to Brayman Construction Corporation in the amount of $81 million.