The Bob Cummings Lincoln Trail Bridge crosses the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

and connects the towns of

Cannelton, Indiana Cannelton is a city in Troy Township, Perry County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,563 at the 2010 census. Cannelton, which was the smallest incorporated city in the state until 2010, was formerly the co ...

and

Hawesville, Kentucky Hawesville is a home rule-class city on the south bank of the Ohio River in Hancock County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 945 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Owensboro metropolitan are ...

. Indiana State Road 237 becomes

Kentucky Route 69 Kentucky Route 69 (KY 69) is a state highway that traverses Ohio County, Kentucky, Ohio and Hancock County, Kentucky, Hancock Counties in northwestern Kentucky. Route description KY 69 runs from Bluff Lane in rural Ohio County, Kentucky, Ohio ...

upon entering Hawesville. Construction began in June 1964 and the bridge opened on December 21, 1966. The steel arch bridge with its suspended deck was a toll facility until the state of Indiana lifted the tolls in the 1990s. Bob Cummings, for whom the bridge was named on November 17, 1974, was the editor of the ''Cannelton News'' and a booster of Cannelton in general until his death on July 25, 1971.

New connections

To the north, the bridge connects to a rerouted five-mile stretch of Indiana 237, which now by-passes Cannelton and dramatically cuts the time of travel to

Indiana 37 State Road 37 (SR 37) is a major route in the U.S. state of Indiana, running as a four-lane divided highway for 110 miles of its course. At one time, the route ran from the southwest corner of the state to the northeast corner. In the pre- ...

, which is the primary link to

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...

for both

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States *Perry County, Alabama *Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois *Perry County, Indiana *Perry County, Kentucky *Perry County, Mississippi *Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perry Coun ...

as well as

Hancock County, Kentucky Hancock County, Kentucky is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,095. Its county seat is in the city of Hawesville located in the Northern part of the county, and the city of Lewisport loc ...

. In Hawesville, Kentucky 69 takes a sharp westward turn into the downtown area before reaching a traffic signal at the junction of Kentucky 3101. The

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is Kentucky's state-funded agency charged with building and maintaining federal highways and Kentucky state highways, as well as regulating other transportation related issues. The Transportation Cabi ...

is studying a direct route for Kentucky 69 that would eliminate the sharp turns and steep hill just outside the downtown area.

New connections

Further reading