The Brookport Bridge (officially the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge) is a ten-span, steel deck (grate), narrow two-lane

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

that carries U.S. Route 45 (US 45) across the Ohio River in the U.S. states of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

. It connects

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

, north to

Brookport, Illinois Brookport is a city in Massac County, Illinois, United States. The population was 984 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. The former Mayor of Brookport, Tami Wessel, was one of nine Libertarian ma ...

. The bridge is named after Irvin S. Cobb, an author and journalist who was born in Paducah. The bridge was originally built by a private company and operated as a toll bridge. The state of Kentucky subsequently purchased the bridge from its builders. The bridge is notoriously difficult to cross, due to its very narrow lanes and steel grate deck. It is restricted to vehicles less than in width and in height, preventing most commercial vehicles from using the bridge. The nearby Interstate 24 Bridge can be used instead.

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