Glover Cary Bridge

 truss bridge, road bridge

The Glover H. Cary Bridge is a continuous truss bridge that spans the Ohio River between Owensboro, Kentucky and Spencer County, Indiana. It was named for the late U.S. Congressman Glover H. Cary (1885-1936), and opened to traffic in September 1940. It was originally a toll bridge, but tolls were discontinued in 1954.

The bridge was funded through a $1.03 million federal grant, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program, and public fundraising efforts. At first, the bridge connected Kentucky Highway 75 to Indiana Highway 75; in 1954, Kentucky 75 was redesignated U.S. Highway 431 and Indiana 75 became U.S. Highway 231.

In the fall of 2002, when the William H. Natcher Bridge was completed, U.S. 231 was rerouted onto that bridge and the former U.S. highway became the southern leg of an extended State Road 161.

Fast Facts

* Local residents call the Cary Bridge the "Blue Bridge" because of its color. It is scheduled to be repainted in 2006 and a Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro's newspaper) sponsored vote was done to determine what color to paint the bridge. Not surprisingly, blue was the overwhelming winner.
* The William H. Natcher Bridge was built upstream from Owensboro to replace the Cary Bridge, but the older bridge remains a vital river crossing, serving many thousands of vehicles daily.