Officials with Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said the U.S. 51 Ohio (Cairo) River Bridge between Wickliffe, Kentucky and Cairo, Illinois is now open after it closed on Friday, March 2 due to flooding.

KY highway personnel spent much of the yesterday clearing drift and checking the levee and roadway for possible damage caused by the floodwaters.

The bridge is an important corridor for commerce between Kentucky, Illinois, and nearby Missouri. The US 51 Ohio River “ Cairo” Bridge carries north-south traffic between Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee on US 51. It also carries east-west traffic on US 60 and US 62 between Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.

More than 4,700 vehicles cross the bridge between Wickliffe, KY, and Cairo, IL, on an average day.