The Nov. 1 fire damaged seven steel girders totaling 556 ft in length—three girders side-by-side along one approach span, and four more on a neighboring approach span—as well as 7,600 sq ft of bridge deck, ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller told reporters Nov. 27. The fire deformed some of the girders and caused them to detach from the concrete deck, which also warped in parts. 

The team has been working around the clock to investigate the damage, plan demolition and assemble all the crews, equipment and materials that will be needed for the repairs, according to ODOT. The team has already done some work not dependent on the arrival of new materials, such as removing a damaged sign truss from the bridge.

“In the last three weeks, we have accomplished a great deal to move this project forward,” Fuller said.

Demolition is scheduled to start Nov. 29 and expected to take about three weeks, Fuller said. Because the structural stability of the section was impacted, engineers have planned a “very systematic approach” for demolition crews to follow. Damaged material will need to be removed in small sections. Crews have already installed 10 shoring towers on 65-x-15-ft, 3-ft-thick concrete pads to support the damaged section in the meantime. 

Once demolition is complete, crews will then repair a 70-ft section of parapet wall on the northbound side, allowing the single closed northbound lane to reopen by late December. 

Repairs to the southbound side will take longer. ODOT and its team—including Hinckley, Ohio-based emergency contractor The Great Lakes Construction Co. and other firms—contacted more than 20 steel fabricators from as far away as California, trying to find one that would be able to deliver custom replacement girders as quickly as possible. Fuller said demand is high at the moment because of repair projects underway in North Carolina and Tennessee after Hurricane Helene, and some suppliers said they would not be able to deliver before next summer. The team chose Stupp Bridge Co. of Bowling Green, Ky., which is expected to deliver the girders in January. 

Crews installed 10 shoring towers to support the damaged section of bridge approach. Photo courtesy ODOT

Crews will also repair concrete pier caps and replace bearings and expansion joints, Fuller said. She estimated this type and scale of project would normally take three years from design through construction in a non-emergency repair situation. 

“Everything has to be custom-made to make these repairs,” Fuller said.

If all goes according to plan, the bridge could reopen by early March, according to ODOT.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued an emergency declaration, allowing ODOT to seek Federal Emergency Relief Program funding for the work. 

The Cincinnati Fire Dept. has not yet shared a cause for the fire that was reported just before 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 1, but a playground under the bridge at a riverfront park burned. An ODOT traffic camera captured flames reaching high above the bridge’s road surface. 

The total closure of the southbound side of the bridge has been a “major frustration” for people who cross the Ohio River in the area, ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning said. Cincinnati Dept. of Transportation and Engineering and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet engineers adjusted traffic signal timing on lights on both sides of the river to improve the flow of traffic during busy commuting times to adjust for displaced travelers using other Ohio River crossings during the closure.