Ohio DOT Outlines Plan to Repair Cincinnati I-471 Bridge Damaged by Fire

The fireplace-damaged part of the southbound Daniel Carter Beard Bridge method in Cincinnati would require a “surgical” demolition, however Ohio Dept. of Transportation officers say repairs needs to be full by the spring—offered that supplies arrive on schedule and winter climate doesn’t sluggish work.

The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge is a 1,300-ft-long, twin tied-arch carrying eight lanes of Interstate 471 over the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Newport, Ky. Its authentic development was accomplished in 1976. 

The Nov. 1 fire damaged seven metal girders totaling 556 ft in size—three girders side-by-side alongside one method span, and 4 extra on a neighboring method span—in addition to 7,600 sq ft of bridge deck, ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller advised reporters Nov. 27. The fireplace deformed a few of the girders and brought on them to detach from the concrete deck, which additionally warped in components. 

The group has been working across the clock to analyze the harm, plan demolition and assemble all of the crews, tools and supplies that will likely be wanted for the repairs, in response to ODOT. The group has already finished some work not depending on the arrival of recent supplies, akin to eradicating a broken signal truss from the bridge.

“Within the final three weeks, we’ve completed a fantastic deal to maneuver this undertaking ahead,” Fuller mentioned.

Demolition is scheduled to start out Nov. 29 and anticipated to take about three weeks, Fuller mentioned. As a result of the structural stability of the part was impacted, engineers have deliberate a “very systematic method” for demolition crews to comply with. Broken materials will have to be eliminated in small sections. Crews have already put in 10 shoring towers on 65-x-15-ft, 3-ft-thick concrete pads to assist the broken part within the meantime. 

As soon as demolition is full, crews will then restore a 70-ft part of parapet wall on the northbound facet, permitting the one closed northbound lane to reopen by late December. 

Repairs to the southbound facet will take longer. ODOT and its group—together with Hinckley, Ohio-based emergency contractor The Nice Lakes Development Co. and different corporations—contacted greater than 20 metal fabricators from as distant as California, looking for one that may be capable of ship {custom} substitute girders as rapidly as doable. Fuller mentioned demand is excessive in the meanwhile due to restore initiatives underway in North Carolina and Tennessee after Hurricane Helene, and a few suppliers mentioned they’d not be capable of ship earlier than subsequent summer season. The group selected Stupp Bridge Co. of Bowling Inexperienced, Ky., which is anticipated to ship the girders in January. 

Crews put in 10 shoring towers to assist the broken part of bridge method. Picture courtesy ODOT

Crews may even restore concrete pier caps and change bearings and growth joints, Fuller mentioned. She estimated this kind and scale of undertaking would usually take three years from design by development in a non-emergency restore state of affairs. 

“Every part needs to be custom-made to make these repairs,” Fuller mentioned.

If all goes in response to plan, the bridge might reopen by early March, in response to ODOT.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued an emergency declaration, permitting ODOT to hunt Federal Emergency Reduction Program funding for the work. 

The Cincinnati Fireplace Dept. has not but shared a trigger for the hearth that was reported simply earlier than 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, however a playground below the bridge at a riverfront park burned. An ODOT site visitors digital camera captured flames reaching excessive above the bridge’s street floor. 

The whole closure of the southbound facet of the bridge has been a “main frustration” for individuals who cross the Ohio River within the space, ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning mentioned. Cincinnati Dept. of Transportation and Engineering and Kentucky Transportation Cupboard engineers adjusted site visitors sign timing on lights on each side of the river to enhance the circulate of site visitors throughout busy commuting instances to regulate for displaced vacationers utilizing different Ohio River crossings throughout the closure.