An osprey nest on the old Eggner’s Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake is no longer holding up construction on the new bridge.
Federal law dictates a 300-foot buffer between work zones and active osprey nests, but the lone egg inside the nest cracked and has been deemed unviable by biologists. That nest has been removed.
More than 30 construction workers were furloughed last month because of the nest. Those workers can now get to work on three new bridge piers that were within the buffer. There is still one active nest on the old bridge, however, and work remains limited in that area.
Around 80 percent of Kentucky’s osprey population resides in the Land Between the Lakes area, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
The old Eggner's Ferry Bridge is tentatively scheduled to be demolished next spring, after the completion of the new bridge.
