Sherman Minton Bridge

The Sherman Minton Bridge is a double-decker, two-span through arch bridge over the Ohio River along Interstate 64 between Louisville, Kentucky and New Albany, Indiana.

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The Sherman Minton Bridge is a double-decker, two-span through arch bridge over the Ohio River along Interstate 64 between Louisville, Kentucky and New Albany, Indiana. It consists of a steel through arch main span and warren deck truss approach spans

History

By the early 1950s, the Second Street Bridge and the K&I Bridge over the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana were nearing capacity. ¹⁰ In response, Arthur W. Grafton commissioned two studies in 1952 and 1953, which concluded that two new bridges were needed: one connecting Louisville to Jeffersonville, Indiana, and the other to New Albany, Indiana. Indiana residents strongly opposed any proposal to make the bridges toll-based.

Following the establishment of the Interstate Highway System by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the federal government committed to funding 90% of the cost for both proposed bridges. ¹⁰ Indiana would cover the remaining 10% of the New Albany bridge’s cost, while Kentucky would pay 10% of the Jeffersonville bridge’s cost.

The bridge’s design contract was awarded to Hazelet & Erdal of Louisville in 1956. ¹⁰ Construction began in June 1959, with the lower deck dedicated and opened on December 22, 1961, by Indiana Governor Matthew Welsh and Kentucky Governor Bert T. Combs. The project cost $14.8 million. Initially named the Louisville-New Albany Bridge, its renaming was proposed by New Albany Mayor C. Pralle Erni, who suggested to Indiana State Senator Clifford H. Maschmeyer that it be named after Sherman Minton, a New Albany native, former U.S. Senator (1935-1941), and Supreme Court Justice (1949-1956).

On April 4, 1962, Indiana Governor Welsh formally announced that the bridge would be named the Sherman Minton Bridge. ¹⁰ The upper deck of the crossing was completed on September 1. ²

The bridge featured a distinctive design with double decks and twin steel through arches. Its striking appearance earned it recognition as the “Most Beautiful Long-Span Bridge of 1961” by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). ¹⁰

Over the years, several maintenance and repair projects were completed. These included a bridge deck overlay and joint replacement in 1980, structural steel repairs in 1984, and another deck overlay along with seismic retrofitting in 1997. ²

Steel Deficiencies

On September 9, 2011, the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed after a significant crack was discovered in a main load-bearing structural element. ² Engineers from the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the Federal Highway Administration, and private engineering firms collaborated to assess the damage and determine whether the bridge could be repaired or would require replacement. ^{14 15}

Initial estimates suggested the bridge might remain closed for several months to three years, depending on whether the damaged steel could be repaired or if replacement was needed. ¹⁴ However, engineers determined that the crack, measuring 2.5 inches, dated back to the bridge’s original construction but had gone undetected because another structural component concealed it. On September 23, officials announced the crack had been repaired, though the bridge would remain closed for further inspection. ¹⁶

Subsequent inspections revealed five to seven additional cracks in welded areas of load-bearing steel beams. These fissures were attributed to a type of steel, T1, commonly used during the bridge’s construction, later found to be prone to cracking.

Hall Contracting of Louisville performed the repairs, installing 1,200 short tons of reinforcing steel plating along both sides of the bridge ties over a 1,600-foot span. The project cost $13.9 million. ¹²

A timeline of 135 workdays was set, with a $100,000 daily incentive for early completion and a $100,000 penalty for each day past the deadline. The Federal Highway Administration covered 25% of the repair costs, while Indiana and Kentucky shared the remaining expenses equally. The bridge reopened on February 17-18, 2012. ^{11 13}

Further repairs included work on steel deck support stringers in 2017. ² In June 2018, two lanes were closed due to a hole in the lower bridge deck. Deck patching was completed in September and October of that year.

Rehabilitation

In the fall of 2018, plans for the Sherman Minton Bridge rehabilitation project were announced. ³ A low-impact maintenance-of-traffic (MOT) approach received approval from the Federal Highway Administration in the fall of 2020. ⁴ By December of that year, Kokosing Construction Company was selected as the design-build contractor, with the contract awarded in March 2021. ^{3 4} Construction began on September 13, 2021. ⁵

The multi-phase project involved replacing or rehabilitating bridge decks, structural steel elements, and hanger cables, repairing drainage systems, upgrading lighting, and repainting the bridge. ¹ These improvements extended the bridge’s lifespan by 30 years.

The project was divided into five phases: ⁴

• Phase 1: Design, materials procurement, and construction of the first half of the eastbound lower deck (September 13, 2021-December 2022) ^{4 5}
• Phase 2: Construction of the second half of the eastbound lower deck (December 12, 2022-May 2023) ^{4 6}
• Phase 3: Construction of the first half of the westbound upper deck (May 29, 2023-November 2023) ^{4 7}
• Phase 4: Construction of the second half of the westbound upper deck (November 20-May 2024) ^{4 8}
• Phase 5: Replacing vertical hanger cables and final traffic configurations (May 2024-December 17) ^{4 9}

The rehabilitation project was completed on December 17, 2024. ¹

Key materials used in the project included: ¹

• Reinforcing Steel (Rebar): 3.8 million pounds
• Concrete: 10,000 cubic yards
• Stringer Beams: 502,000 pounds of new steel beams supporting the bridge deck
• Hanger Cables: 128 new cables totaling 162,000 pounds and 9,980 feet in length connecting the arches to the bridge deck.

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Gallery

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Details

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Sources

1. “Phase five of Sherman Minton Renewal now complete.” Sherman Minton Renewal, 17 Dec. 2024.
2. “About the Bridge.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
3. “Project Key Points.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
4. “Construction.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
5. “Phase 1.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
6. “Phase 2.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
7. “Phase 3.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
8. “Phase 4.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
9. “Phase 5.” Sherman Minton Renewal.
10. Kleber, John E., ed. The Encyclopedia of Louisville, 2001, pp. 123, 418.
11. Green, Marcus. “Sherman Minton Bridge repairs to take six months, cost $20M.” Courier-Journal, 1 Oct. 2011.
12. “Sherman Minton Bridge Repair to Require 135 Work Days.” Indiana Department of Transportation.
13. Stewart, Alan. “Motorists celebrate bridge reopening.” Corydon Democrat, 22 Feb. 2012.
14. “Sherman Minton bridge shut down; crack found in bridge.” WDRB, 9 Sept. 2011.
15. Quay, Chris, Tom Loftus, and Grace Schneider. “Sherman Minton Bridge Closed; Structural cracks shut down span indefinitely.” Courier-Journal, 10 Sept. 2011, p. A1.
16. “LAHOOD: One Sherman Minton Bridge crack repaired; no timetable for re-opening.” WDRB, 23 Sept. 2011.