The circa 1871 Clay’s Ferry Bridge carries KY Route 2328 over the Kentucky River between Fayette and Madison counties in Kentucky.
History
In 1792, Valentine Stone obtained permission from Madison County to run a ferry across the Kentucky River, connecting Fayette and Madison counties. 1 He later sold this operation to General Green Clay in 1798.
By 1865, a descendant of Clay, Brutus J. Clay, along with R.C. Rogers, sold the ferry to the Richmond & Lexington Turnpike Company. 1 This company operated the ferry until 1871, when they built a toll bridge. In 1897, the Fayette and Madison county governments bought the Turnpike, excluding the bridge. The company continued to manage the bridge until 1906. That year, W.S. Moberly, James Erskine, and Thomas J. Smith bought it for $4,755 in a public auction.
These three men formed the Clay’s Ferry Bridge Company and ran the toll bridge until April 1, 1929, when the Commonwealth of Kentucky bought it for $200,000. 1 Tolls were discontinued on December 24, 1930.
Due to the bridge’s critical role in military transportation during World War II, armed guards were stationed there around the clock beginning on January 15, 1943. 2 This bridge was among ten in the state that the War Department requested to be guarded by personnel from the state highway department.
The Clay’s Ferry Bridge was regulated to secondary status after the Kentucky State Highway Department finished a new high-level bridge over the Kentucky River in August 1946. 1
Gallery
Details
- State: Kentucky
- Route: KY Route 2328
- Status: Active (Automobile)
- Type: Warren Through Truss
- Total Length: 440'
- Main Span Length: 228'
- Spans: 212'×1
- Deck Width: 17.5'
- Roadway Width: 15.5'
- Height of Structure: 0
- Above Vertical Clearance: 14.9'
- Navigational Clearance: 0
Sources
- “Clay’s Ferry Bridge seventh highest when built.” Kentucky Post 23 Aug. 2004. 26 Nov. 2007: 7K.
- “Clay’s Ferry Bridge Gets Armed Guards.” Lexington Herald, 15 Jan. 1943, p. 1.