A bridge linking Kentucky and Illinois has reopened almost a week after it was closed by floodwaters.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said the U.S. 51 Ohio River "Cairo" Bridge reopened Thursday afternoon once engineers determined the roadway was safe for traffic.
The bridge carries north-south traffic between Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee on U.S. 51 and east-west traffic on U.S. 60 and U.S. 62 between Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.
The bridge has been closed since last Friday. The closure created an 80-mile (130-kilometer) detour to get from Wickliffe, Kentucky, to Cairo, Illinois, a trip that's normally 8 miles (13 kilometers).
The cabinet says an average of 4,700 vehicles cross the bridge daily between Wickliffe and Cairo.
