At first glance, only rail damage - but bridge will remain closed for further inspection

 (June 20, 2012) UPDATE - Repairs to the KY 1037 Railroad Overpass south of Clinton in Hickman County are complete. The roadway has reopened at this site.  

The wooden structure continues to be restricted to one lane traffic with a 3-ton load limit. The load limit restricts the structure to vehicles no heavier than a passenger vehicle or an empty standard pickup truck.  

KY 1037 remains closed in Hickman County at the edge of Clinton due to a fire on a wooden railroad overpass early this morning. Area fire departments responded about 4:30 a.m., CDT, to the structure that carries vehicle traffic over a main rail line.

Also known as Gore Road and Crap Shoot Road, KY 1037 runs between KY 780 and KY 123 south of Clinton.

A KYTC bridge inspector says an initial check of the fire damage indicates mostly railing damage.  However, a more thorough inspection of the wooden structure will take a day or two to complete.  Meanwhile, KY 1037 will remain closed at the bridge site while that work is being completed.

Early reports from the site indicate the fire may have been deliberately set.  A state Fire Marshall and a Kentucky State Police arson investigator were expected to arrive at the site around noon to initiate an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

The wooden bridge had been restricted to one lane with a lowered weight limit since December 2010 when a routine inspection by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet found deterioration in the bridge support structure.

Railings and curbs to restrict the aging wooden bridge to one lane had been added by the railroad to limit traffic crossing the structure to one vehicle at a time. Through a cooperative effort between the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Canadian National Railroad and local officials, the bridge is on schedule to be replaced with a modern concrete structure with construction expected to start sometime late this year or early next year. 

This timber bridge is on KY 1037 at mile point 0.481.   Approximately 800 vehicles travel KY 1037/Crap Shoot Road/Gore Road in Hickman County in an average day.