CINCINNATI — Parts of the Western Hills Viaduct will still be closed into Monday for emergency repairs, the city announced.
The closures were initially only supposed to span Wednesday and Thursday, but crews need additional time to finish prep work needed for the repairs, the city said.
The two middle lanes on the top deck and the two southern lanes on the bottom deck have intermittently been closed after the city said crews had to patch a "trouble spot" in the top deck with asphalt Monday night after parts of the concrete broke loose, falling from the top deck and onto the bottom deck.
City officials said the spot is about 10 feet along an expansion joint in the middle of the top deck. On Saturday, crews repairing the bridge will fully close the viaduct's bottom deck, but that was already going to happen for a previously scheduled maintenance, according to the city.
The repair will involve workers installing wood forms from the underside of the top deck, using a lift to maneuver it into place. Then, on Monday, the center lanes of the top deck will be closed while crews fill the "trouble spot" with reinforced concrete, creating a more permanent repair than the current temporary asphalt patch.
Through traffic will still be able to travel east and west across the viaduct on the outside lanes. The bottom deck will be fully open Monday.
There were no injuries or property damage reported after the concrete fell.
Police blocked off a few lanes for the temporary fix, but crews will now replace the asphalt with reinforced concrete to fix the spot more permanently.
"We’re grateful our city crews were able to temporarily patch the spot and no one was injured from the loose concrete," Brandon Lecrone, bridge program manager for the Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering, said in a release. “It’s good timing that we are returning Saturday for previously planned maintenance, which will include inspecting other potential trouble spots, concrete sounding checks and chipping of any other loose concrete.”
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