Clays Ferry Bridge, Road bridge at Fayette-Madison county line, United States
Clays Ferry Bridge is a road bridge in Kentucky that spans the Kentucky River between Madison and Fayette counties. It carries Interstate 75 along with US Routes 25 and 421, making it one of the main river crossings in this part of the state.
A ferry crossing operated here from 1792, and a first bridge replaced it in 1869. The current structure was completed in 1998, taking the place of the earlier bridge after decades of use.
The name comes from Green Clay, who ran a ferry service across the Kentucky River here in the late 1700s. Drivers crossing today pass over the same stretch of water that travelers once had to cross by boat.
The bridge is open to vehicle traffic and can get very busy during rush hours on Interstate 75. Crossing outside peak travel times makes the drive more comfortable.
An earlier bridge on this site was, when it opened in 1946, the tallest east of the Mississippi River, rising about 280 feet (85 meters) above the water. That height was unusual enough for the region that the bridge became a reference point in American bridge construction.
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