The Russell Viaduct carries KY Route 244 over the CSX Railroad in Russell, Kentucky.
History
The Russell Viaduct was constructed in 1937-38 2 to replace an at-grade crossing and carry US Route 23 over the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. The alignment, which snaked through narrow city streets and an underpass, was bypassed with a four-lane alignment in 1957. 1 KY Route 244 was re-designed over the viaduct.
![Russell Viaduct Layout](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/russellviaduct.png?resize=640%2C271)
Planning to either replace or rehabilitate the then-72-year-old Russell Viaduct began in 2010, with consultants, local officials, and the public weighing in on alternatives. 3 Following a public meeting in 2012, 4 which unveiled alternatives for the project, it was decided to replace the crossing to realign the eastern terminus with a rebuilt US Route 23 and KY Route 750 intersection and avoid the complicated intersection that existed with the Oakley Clark Collins Memorial Bridge. 3
A low-bid contract of $20.6 million was awarded to Triton Construction in March 2020, 4 and construction of the new Russell Viaduct began on May 4. 3 A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new $24 million Russell Viaduct on November 3, 2021, and opened to traffic on November 19. 5
Gallery
![Russell, Kentucky](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20220502-DJI_0335-Edit-1024x767.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20220502-DJI_0336-Edit-1024x767.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20220502-DJI_0333-Edit-1024x767.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20220502-DJI_0334-Edit-1024x767.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0421-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0426-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0432-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0419-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0435-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0407-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0411-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0412-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0443-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Excavation](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0401-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct East Terminus](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200823-DJI_0424-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct Construction](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20201225-DJI_0784-Edit-1024x575.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0172-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0168-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0151-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0142-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0169-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0145-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0147-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0165-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0149-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0155-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0157-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20210304-DJI_0163-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-DJI_0306-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct and Oakley Clark Collins Memorial Bridge](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-PANO0021-Pano-1024x298.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-DJI_0294-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-DJI_0295-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct and Oakley Clark Collins Memorial Bridge](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-DJI_0291-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct and Oakley Clark Collins Memorial Bridge](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-DJI_0303-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-DJI_0302-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210829-DJI_0300-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0884-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0889-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0901-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i1.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0903-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0916-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0890-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0891-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i0.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0899-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
![Russell Viaduct](https://i2.wp.com/bridgestunnels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211116-DJI_0896-Edit-1024x682.jpg)
Information
- State: Kentucky
- Route: KY Route 244
- Type: Girder or Beam
- Status: Active - Automobile
- Total Length: 1,095 feet
- Main Span Length: 80 feet
- Spans:
- Deck Width: 32 feet
- Roadway Width: 26 feet
- Navigational Clearance:
Sources
- “Ashland-Portsmouth (Russell By-Pass) Road.” Project Archives, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, 1957.
- “US -23 (Grade, Drain, and Surface).” Project Archives, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, 1937.
- “Russell to get new bridge.” Ironton Tribune, 22 Apr. 2020.
- Blair, Allen. “Russell Viaduct Project.” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
- Romans, Charles. “Ribbon cutting on flyover bridge.” Daily Independent, 3 Nov. 2021.