Singing Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Singing Bridge
Carries:2 vehicle lanes & 2 pedestrian walkways
Crosses:Kentucky River
Starts:St. Clair Street
Ends:Bridge Street
Locale:Frankfort, Kentucky
Load:3 tons
Builder:King Bridge Company
Design:Pennsylvania truss
Traffic:5,000 (2019)
Open:1893
Coordinates:38.1965°N -84.8788°W

The Singing Bridge (also known as the St. Clair Street bridge[1]) is a two-lane vehicle and pedestrian bridge in Frankfort, Kentucky that is so named because of the humming sound it makes when driven over., the bridge carries over 5,000 vehicles per day across the Kentucky River along St. Clair Street to Bridge Street, joining Downtown Frankfort with South Frankfort. It is a contributing structure to the Frankfort Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The bridge gets its name from the humming noise it makes as vehicles travel across its open-grate steel deck, which replaced a solid flooring in 1937.[2]

History

The over-400 foot long bridge is a Pennsylvania truss bridge built in 1893 by King Bridge Company, and was rehabilitated in 1956 and in 2010.[3] The bridge originally carried U.S. Route 60 (US 60) until that highway was rerouted over the nearby War Mothers Memorial Bridge.

In 2019, the 125-year-old bridge's load rating was reduced from 9 tons (1988) to 3 tons,[4] [5] then it was closed to vehicle traffic in late 2020 when an accident caused damage to a truss and rail. Repairs were started in March 2021 to repair the damage and to inspect for further damage caused when an unmoored floating marina's roof hit the bottom of the bridge on March 3, 2021, during high river levels.[6] [7] [8]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Geography | Frankfort, KY. www.frankfort.ky.gov.
  2. Web site: The Singing Bridge: Past, present, and my hope for the future | FRANK. Magazine. September 14, 2018. frankthemagazine.com.
  3. Web site: Singing Bridge (State Bridge) - HistoricBridges.org. historicbridges.org.
  4. Web site: Singing Bridge's weight limit reduced. The State Journal. November 15, 2019.
  5. Web site: BridgeReports.com | US 60X over KENTUCKY RIVER, Franklin County, Kentucky. bridgereports.com.
  6. Web site: KYTC to start work on Singing Bridge next week. The State Journal. March 5, 2021.
  7. Web site: KYTC: No definite origin for wayward marina. Chanda. Veno. The State Journal. March 4, 2021.
  8. Web site: Runaway dock floating down Kentucky River crashes into Frankfort bridge (with videos). WKYT. March 3, 2021.