The William H. Natcher Bridge is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

that carries U.S. Highway 231 over the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The bridge connects

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the List of cities in Kentucky, fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is loca ...

Rockport, Indiana Rockport is a city in Ohio Township and the county seat of Spencer County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,984 at the 2020 census. Once the largest community in Spencer County, the city has recently been surpassed by the ...

and opened on October 21, 2002. It is named in honor of William Huston Natcher, a former

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

who served Kentucky's 2nd Congressional District from 1954 until his death in 1994. The bridge project was named for Natcher only three months before his death. It is owned by the

Commonwealth of Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and was commissioned by the

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is Kentucky's state-funded government agency, agency charged with building and maintaining U.S. Highway System, federal highways and List of primary state highways in Kentucky, Kentucky state highways, ...

, in cooperation with the

Indiana Department of Transportation The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, List of number ...

and the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

Specifications

The William H. Natcher Bridge is in length (including its approaches) and wide. It is supported by cables connected to two identical diamond-shaped towers, each tall. At the time of its construction, it was the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

' longest cable-supported bridge over an inland waterway.

Construction

The concept for a new bridge to serve Owensboro dates back to 1987, when a Green River Area Development District study recommended a new bridge to connect to U.S. Highway 231 in Rockport, where the highway separated from

Indiana State Road 66 State Road 66 is an east–west highway in seven counties in the southernmost portion of the U.S. state of Indiana. Route description State Road 66 begins at the eastern end of a toll bridge over the Wabash River in New Harmony and ends a ...

mere feet away from the river's bank. Congressman Natcher first began seeking federal funds for the new bridge in 1988. Construction ran across the late 1990s and early 2000s at a cost of US$70 million (approximately $40 million from federal sources, $30 million from state sources). Originally slated for a 1996 completion, the bridge was the victim of numerous funding delays from both the federal and state levels. Though the concrete

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

s (the bases which support the upright towers) were installed in 1995, construction on the bridge itself did not begin until 1998. Even then, the original plan was to have the bridge completed by the end of 2000, but the builders said that goal was unrealistic due to the complicated nature of the cable installation. It was finally dedicated on August 16, 2002, but did not open to traffic until October 21, 2002. The Natcher Bridge was designed by Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas, Inc. and built by Traylor Brothers of

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

Reasons for building

The bridge was constructed for two reasons: to relieve traffic congestion on the aging

Owensboro Bridge The Owensboro Bridge, also called the Blue Bridge, is a continuous truss bridge that spans the Ohio River between Owensboro, Kentucky and Spencer County, Indiana. Dedicated to the memory of the late U.S. Congressman Glover H. Cary (1885–193 ...

in downtown Owensboro (approximately 6 miles downstream from the Natcher Bridge), and as part of a larger project to make U.S. Highway 231 a four-lane road between Owensboro and

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...

near

Dale, Indiana Dale is a town in Carter Township, Spencer County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,544 at the 2020 census. History Dale was originally called Elizabeth, and under the latter name was laid out in 1843. When a post office was ...

. The U.S. 231 connection to I-64 in Indiana fully opened to traffic on March 15, 2011.

Effects of bridge

A new four-lane expressway, from

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

near Owensboro to the Natcher Bridge was constructed. Upon the completion of the bridge,

U.S. Route 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US&nbs ...

was rerouted onto the new four-lane highway and around

in the city of

Owensboro Owensboro is a home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest ...

was renumbered to

Kentucky Route 2155 Kentucky Route 2155 (KY 2155) is an urban secondary north–south state highway located entirely in Owensboro in northwest Kentucky. Route description KY 2155 begins at an interchange with Wendell H. Ford Expressway ( U.S. Route 60, US ...

and in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

from the old

to the Indiana four-lane expressway approach, old

was renumbered to State Road 161. In 2014, the

extended the

US 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

By-Pass (also known as the

Wendell H. Ford Wendell Hampton Ford (September 8, 1924 – January 22, 2015) was an American politician from Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Governor of Kentucky from 1971 to 1974, and as a member of the United States Senate for 24 ye ...

Expressway) eastward from just north of the

Kentucky Route 54 Kentucky Route 54 (KY 54) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Route Description The highway, which begins at the intersection of Frederica Street and Parrish Avenue in Owensboro, which is also its junction with Kentucky Route 8 ...

interchange to the junction of U.S. 60/231 and

Kentucky Route 2830 Kentucky Route 2830 (KY 2830) is a two-lane, largely rural highway in northeastern Daviess County, Kentucky. The southern terminus is at KY 144 and the northern terminus is at KY 334. The road serves the community of Maceo. Route descr ...

between Owensboro and

Maceo, Kentucky Maceo is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Daviess County, Kentucky, Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...

. This project, in tandem with the Natcher Bridge and Indiana's expansion of U.S. 231 to four lanes from the Ohio River to

, will create an almost non-stop, high-speed route from I-64 near

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

, allowing a bypass of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

References

External links