Major Traffic Alert: Southbound Twin Bridge in Henderson to be down to one lane for almost two months

HENDERSON, Ky. (WFIE) - According to the Kentucky Transportation Department, they’ll be taking the southbound Twin Bridge to one lane as they remove paint, test hundreds of welds, and replace primer.

The prospect of one lane is a little troublesome, especially to those like Callia Phelps, who works at the Trocadero gas station that’s located just before you hit the bridge.

“If there’s a wreck, it’ll probably be backed up you know an hour, two hours before they can get it cleaned up with it being one lane,” says Phelps.

According to department officials, this specialized testing comes after Interstate 40 in Memphis was discovered to have a fracture in one of its butt welds in 2021.

As a result, the Federal Highway Administration now requires states to identify, inspect and test specific T-1 steel bridges, which the twin bridges are, to verify the soundness of all butt welds.

While they’re doing that, frequent fliers in the area like Heidi Neifert are mentally prepping for what could be longer waits.

“The traffic is usually bad in the afternoon between 3 and 7. It can be kind of a pain,” says Neifert, “all that waiting.”

With the potential of delays and backups on the horizon, Phelps and others who are familiar with the area are just hoping for as smooth of a transition as possible.

“A little worried because when they were doing the cleanup on the bridge where they had it down to one lane, we got a little slow and there were times where we were backed up,” says Phelps, “but I mean, as long as this part behind us to Ellis Park is open, it should be fine.”

The transportation department says work is supposed to wrap up in just under two months on November 18.

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