If you plan to use Cincinnati's John A. Roebling Bridge anytime soon, you better get out your walking shoes.
Starting at noon on Monday, the iconic bridge will be shut down to vehicular traffic for most of 2021.
The bridge has been down to a single lane since Feb. 1 to prepare for a $4.7 million restoration project that will include masonry work and repairing and replacing sections of the bridge's sandstone towers. The bridge's pedestrian walkway will remain open throughout the project.
The bridge is expected to reopen to vehicles in late November, with the overall restoration project completed by Dec. 31.
The Roebling is one of Cincinnati's most beautiful and recognizable landmarks, but it is also regularly closed.
- It was closed in parts of 2006 and 2007 for some structural and electrical repairs, according to records from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
- In 2009 and 2010, it was closed for a painting project.
- In 2018, it was closed for a little longer than a month after a driver ran into one of the columns.
- In 2019, it was closed for four months after chunks of sandstone fell from one of the towers.
- And in 2020, after a crash and fire on the nearby Brent Spence Bridge, the Roebling was briefly closed to prevent heavy trucks from improperly using the Roebling as a detour.
The Roebling sees more than 9,000 vehicles a day, according to state traffic counts, but closures have been so frequent that there have been some calls recently to close the bridge to cars for good to help preserve the landmark.
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