Bromley - Oak Street Bridge
The establishment of the Ludlow Lagoon Amusement Park created a large lake between the Ludlow and Bromley. The lake was created by damming the Pleasant Run Creek which emptied into the Ohio River. At about this time, a bridge was built which spanned the creek at Oak Street. This bridge provided the only connection between the two communities.
In January 1907, the Ohio River crested at 65.2′. High water undermined the concrete supports of the bridge. Officials banned use of the structure until repairs could be accomplished. Repair work was finally completed and the bridge was reopened on October 28, 1907. Bromley had been without streetcar service for over seven months.
The repair work on the bridge proved only temporary. By 1909, the structure had again been weakened. Bromley city officials began soliciting funds from residents to help pay for the construction of a new bridge. This new steel bridge was completed in 1910. The streetcar company paid for part of the construction. Bromley residents donated $1,320 to the project.
In 1922, repair work was again necessary. This time, the Cities of Ludlow and Bromley paid one half of the cost and Kenton County paid the other half.
The Oak Street Bridge was rebuilt several times since 1922. The last major rebuild occurred in the 1970s. In 1974, high water had again undermined the stability of the bridge. Repairs were quickly made. In March 1978 high water again eroded the entire structure. A new concrete bridge was not completed until 1980.
Kentucky Post, March 10, 1910, June 27, 1910, p. 5, December 1, 1922, p. 1, May 24, 1999, p. 4k; News Enterprise, March 23, 1978, p. 1.
