PORTSMOUTH – State officials will close the U.

Saturday, June 16, 2001

PORTSMOUTH – State officials will close the U.S. Grant Bridge in Portsmouth next month as construction of its replacement nears.

The Ohio Department of Transportation announced Friday that engineers from C.J. Mahan Construction will close the bridge at noon July 3, rerouting traffic over the Carl Perkins Bridge, State Route 852, to the west.

"With the final preparations being completed, the contractors are ready to proceed with the first phase of demolition," said deputy director John F. Hagen from the District 9 office in Chillicothe.

With a bid amount of $28,434,495 – approximately 4 percent over the state’s estimate of $27,235,000 – the Mahan Company of Grove City, Ohio, was awarded the contract for the bridge replacement project on April 18.

In keeping with the current structure’s steel design, the new bridge will be a steel-based cable stayed bridge. Following demolition of the existing bridge, the new bridge will be built in the same location.

It will be a two-lane bridge with wide shoulders, and its center span will be 825 feet. Moreover, a display consisting of salvaged items from the existing structure will be erected to commemorate the Grant bridge.

Completion of the U.S. Grant Bridge replacement is scheduled for June 30, 2004. Traffic across the Ohio River will be detoured until then.

onto the Carl Perkins Bridge, State Route 852, just west of Portsmouth.