Cleanup efforts on the Licking River are underway, as crews use barges and cranes to remove debris from the planned demolition of the Fourth Street Bridge. The span was brought down with explosives Monday as part of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s project to build an upgraded replacement.
The blast could have killed some surprised fish and temporarily worsened water quality, scientists say. But, most impacts were diluted due to the size of the Licking River, which is more than 300 miles long.
Chris Lorentz is a professor of biological sciences at Thomas More University and director of its Ohio River Biology Field Station. He likens the Licking River to a football field.
“We're really impacting a hash mark on this football field,” Lorentz said. “Hopefully we can spread out the organisms that are in that area, move some stuff around, and, boom, you hit that one area. But if you look at the stream as a system, it's just a really, really minimal impact, generally speaking.”
He says the river is home to dozens of species of fish, mussels and macroinvertebrates.
“We're fortunate to be in a part of the country where the aquatic biodiversity is off the charts,” Lorentz said.
Lorentz says most animals would have avoided the explosion, going into "escape mode" and moving away from the loud noise.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says a “robust environmental evaluation” was performed as part of its project development process.
Lorentz says these assessments are important to determine whether there are any endangered species in the area, and if they need to be relocated.
A survey revealed no federally listed endangered mussel species in the project corridor, according to the transportation cabinet.
And, the U.S. Department of the Interior and Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged none of the activities involved in the project have potential to affect endangered species or habitats, concurring with a "No Effect Finding" as part of the Federal Highway Administration-approved Environmental Document for the project.
What about water quality?
The bridge demolition likely had minimal effects on water quality, says Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission Executive Director Sam Dinkins.
ORSANCO was not part of the coordinated demolition effort, but it continuously monitors river conditions across the Ohio River basin and maintains early warning capabilities for potential water quality impacts.
Dinkins says dust, debris and metal particles fell into the river immediately after the explosion. But, any contamination would have been diluted quickly.
“So you would see a very small increase in those contaminants, and then it would dissipate rather quickly, is what we would anticipate,” Dinkins said. “As a result, we really would not expect any substantial impacts from this type of activity.”
Barges and cranes are removing bridge debris from the river. Dinkins says the metal itself doesn’t necessarily pose a threat to the waterway. He notes that some places sink old ships and concrete pipes intentionally to create habitat for aquatic life.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says it worked to minimize the environmental impacts of the rusty steel being in the river with federal and state regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Kentucky Division of Water.
Next steps
Cleanup efforts are expected to wrap up soon and the Licking River reopens to vessels Thursday at 10 p.m., according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Construction on the new bridge is set to start soon after. It’s expected to be completed and opened in the summer of 2028.
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