Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced Tuesday the award of a contract to build the first of the twin Lake Bridges in the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky.
The contract was awarded to Johnson Brothers Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas. The $131.5 million project will build a modern, four-lane bridge to carry U.S. 68/KY80 over Kentucky Lake and serve the western entrance to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
“Replacement of the bridges over Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley has been a priority of my administration because of their importance to the tourism industry of western Kentucky,” Gov. Beshear said in a news release.
The new bridge will replace the Eggners Ferry Bridge, which was built in 1932 and no longer meets traffic demands in the region.
The Eggners Ferry, joining Marshall and Trigg counties, has two lanes, each 10 feet wide, with no shoulders. The new bridge will have four travel lanes, each 11 feet wide, plus 4-foot shoulders and a 10-foot-wide pedestrian/bicycle path.
The Lake Bridges Project also includes replacement of the Henry Lawrence Memorial Bridge on Lake Barkley. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet hopes to award a contract for the second bridge by December.