Another thought about bridges

Before we leave the topic of Ohio River bridges for a few days, we should consider that overall, we're in good shape here. From Point Pleasant to Portsmouth, the bridges most of us use most often are in pretty good shape, with the exception of the Ironton-Russell Bridge.

The old bridge at Ashland might be a bit narrow, but at least it's one-way, and if it should ever need to be taken out of service, the new bridge right next to it will do until a replacement is built.

Some of our bridges are inadequate for the volume of traffic -- the West 17th Street bridge comes to mind first -- but at least it's been rehabilitated in the past 10 years and should be in good shape structurally. It still needs a companion bridge next to it. While some folks think the approaches are landlocked, I'm sure that can be worked around with the right incentives.

I plan to write more on this topic in the future. But I'll give you all a break right now.