The Clays Ferry bridge was under construction over the Kentucky River in November 1944. The task of laying superstructural steel work on the pylons was done by the Mount Vernon Bridge Co. of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The structural work was started from the Fayette County side of the river and rose at a three percent incline to the Madison side. This slight grade can be seen in the photo. The bridge was 280 feet high at river level, the highest structure of its kind east of the Mississippi River at the time, and was more than 1,500 feet long. Published in the Lexington Leader.