CINCINNATI — Crews working on the Big Mac Bridge repairs will start putting more shoring towers up early next week, an Ohio Department of Transportation spokesperson said, before demolition on the southbound side begins sometime after the Thanksgiving holiday and lasts through December.
"If it's not too cold and we don't have a lot of bad weather, (crews) should be able to get (repairs) in right now," ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller said. "While they're scheduled to work Thanksgiving Day, I don't anticipate anybody working on Thanksgiving Day, because it is the holiday."
The single northbound lane closure on I-471 over the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, also known as the Big Mac Bridge, will have to be permanent until repairs are complete on that side of the bridge, ODOT said in its daily repair update Wednesday.
It was also revealed that as a result of the newly found damage to the four beams on the southbound side of the bridge, the weight of the concrete deck is no longer supported, prompting the need for more shoring towers before demolition and repairs can begin. Concrete pours for those towers are expected to take place next week, ODOT said.
BIG MAC BRIDGE UPDATE @WCPO: A look at Pete Rose Way as drivers stack up heading toward the Taylor Southgate Bridge.
— Connor Steffen | WCPO 9 News (@ConnorSteffenTV) November 21, 2024
Per @ODOT_Cincinnati, more shoring towers will go up soon. Demolition will begin after Thanksgiving. A timeline hinges on the availability of building materials. pic.twitter.com/wVHuajy1Pk
There's still no timeline for when the lanes can reopen after a fire on Nov. 1 seriously damaged the structure.
"Although the details of an exact timeline for construction to begin and be completed has yet to be determined, ODOT and Great Lakes Construction are getting closer to knowing the schedule," ODOT said in a release sent out Thursday. "Behind the scenes, staff have been contacting steel fabricators to determine which company will be able to expedite production of the (beams) that need to be replaced. The timeline will depend upon the availability of steel."
A timeline hinges on the availability of material, Fuller said, because for the most part, it's custom-made.
"These are going to be custom-made. It's not off-the-shelf where we can just order parts from a catalog, so to speak," she said. "There are some unique components with the hinge joint underneath the bridge. These are things that people don't see when they're traveling."
The good news: A lane closure on the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge has been removed, as a previously scheduled repair project will be delayed until the spring to better ease traffic congestion.
When asked how many drivers may see relief through the reopening, a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesperson suggested it's hard to estimate.
"The lane reopening on the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge might make it a bit more enticing for drivers to use," said Jake Ryle, a KYTC spokesperson. "However, the majority of traffic continues to take the Taylor Southgate Bridge through Newport and back on to I-471 southbound in Kentucky."
RELATED: Why was a flammable playground allowed under the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge?
Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) Director John Brazina told city council on Wednesday he still hasn't heard from the Cincinnati Fire Department on the investigation into the fire, which ignited a wooden and rubber playground beneath the bridge. Campbell added it may take a few weeks for the investigation to deliver any answers.
When asked by council member Mark Jeffreys whether I-471 South will be closed for weeks or months, Campbell said the agency doesn't yet know.
Fellow council member Seth Walsh said he was frustrated with the number of meaningful updates.
"The answer can't just be it takes time," he said. "They've got a lot of reasons why it's taking so long. They're not actually, like, giving us any real answers."
Walsh said he hears from constituents daily about the gridlock downtown and acknowledges that the damage and repairs are complex.
"Instead of saying 'I don't know', maybe we should start saying what we do know and really kind of leaning in on that more and communicating to people," he said.
"That's not to say they're not doing a fantastic job, but that is to say there's a lot of darkness right now that I'm not comfortable with, and I'm frustrated by, and I know people at home are frustrated by," Walsh said.
On Friday, Nov. 1, at around 3:30 a.m., the 1,000 Hands Playground in Sawyer Point Park caught on fire, causing part of the bridge to burn. Days later, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a state of emergency "due to the dangerous conditions and damages."
Since the fire, a traffic count analyst for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) said 33,000 vehicles per day on average have moved to nearby bridges in the two weeks since the fire and subsequent lane closures.
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