4th Street Bridge, Newport & Covington, Kentucky

The complete history of the 4th Street Bridge between Covington & Newport actually begins in 1789 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In that year Fort Washington was a fortified stockade with blockhouses with construction starting in the summer 1789 in what is now downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, near the Ohio River. The physical location of the fort was facing the mouth of the Licking River, above present day Fort Washington Way. The fort was named in honor of President George Washington. The fort was the major staging place and conduit for settlers, troops and supplies during the settlement of the Northwest Territory.

In 1803, the fort was moved across the river to Newport, Kentucky and became the Newport Barracks. In 1806, the site of the abandoned Fort Washington was divided into lots and sold.

The Newport Barracks was originally 4 acres and expanded to 6 acres in 1806. The barracks sat at the current location of the General James Taylor Park and was operational as a major military post, arsenal and prison until 1894

Now for the good stuff about the bridges….

Bridge #1

Before stationary covered bridges were built, Pontoon Bridges were built over waterways such as this one in a drawing of a bridge spanning the Licking River at the Newport Barracks. This was most likely the first manmade crossing at that location.

Bridge #2

From the book “Kentucky’s Covered Bridges” by Robert Laughlin, he writes: “The only known image of what is reported to have been Kentucky’s first covered bridge is this engraving of the span over the mouth of the Licking River between Newport & Covington at the Campbell-Kenton County line. The Newport Barracks was established in 1803 and the bridge is mentioned in the “Old Minute Book” which records the daily activities of the army post. If rumors can be verified that the bridge was built in 1804, it would have preceded Timothy Palmer’s “Permanent Bridge” built at Philadelphia in 1805, regarded as America’s first covered bridge.” So was this built in 1804 and if so, how long did it stand? I don’t know the answer. Does anyone out there know the answer to this? If so, leave a comment below.

Bridge #3

In April 1845 construction began on a suspension bridge at the foot of 4th street in Covington to span the Licking River. The construction of the bridge was painfully slow due mainly to lack of funds. It was finally completed 8 years later and opened to the general public on Wednesday, December 28, 1853 at a cost of about $62,000.00. Unfortunately 19 days later on January 16, 1854, 2 men were herding 18 head of cattle across the bridge when cast iron rings holding the bridge cables, broke sending the men and cattle into the river below.

The men survived but the damage to the bridge was about $14,000.00. The bridge was rebuilt and then reopened in May 1854. This bridge stood until 1885 when the bridge was demolished due to safety concerns over the 8 cables which apparently had lost their strength or were completely disconnected.

Bridge #4

The Keystone Bridge Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania completed construction of the next bridge on Christmas Day 1886. This is one of the wildest steel truss bridges I’ve ever seen. I shared pictures of this bridge with 2 of the most noted Midwest bridge historians, Jeff Shroyer and Tony Dillon. Neither man had ever seen anything quite like this and were unable to classify what type of bridge this could have been. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment below. This bridge stood until 1934.

Bridge #5

Construction of a new bridge began in 1934. The old bridge piers were removed and new concrete approaches were poured b the Temple Foundation in Cincinnati. The steel superstructure was built by the R.C. Mahon Company of Detroit, Michigan. This is the same company who erected the West approach of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Franscisco. The Polygonal Warren Through Truss Bridge was completed and opened to the public on July 23, 1936. It was named the “Veterans Memorial Bridge” in honor of the men and women who fought in the First World War. However, most people later referred to it as the 4th Street Bridge”.

This bridge served the cities of Newport and Covington faithfully over the years with a restoration performed around 2008. However, weather and time had taken it’s toll on the piers and the superstructure. In 2024 it was decided to have the bridge replaced with a stronger, wider and more modern Rainbow Arch design. That same year the bridge was reduced to one lane east and one lane west bound.

The bridge was closed in January 2026 so that removal of concrete and demolition prep could take place. On Monday, March 2nd, 2026 at 10:01am explosives brought the bridge crashing down into the Licking River. Debris removal continued during that week in order for new construction to begin.

GPS Location: 39º05’17.0″N 84º30’16.5″W