Barring weather interruptions, the southbound lanes of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge will reopen as anticipated in early to mid-March, officials said Monday.
“The weather is either going to be our enemy or our friend,” Kathleen Fuller, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation, said on site Monday morning.
Last week’s snow storms did not interrupt the project, with steel girders being made elsewhere.
And a 20-degree Monday did not slow work to begin installing the first of the girders.
But wet weather or under-40-degree days in mid-February could derail the schedule. That’s when workers are aiming to lay two layers of concrete on southbound Interstate 471, damaged in a dramatic Nov. 1 fire under the Daniel Carter Beard.
That will be a two-week process that requires dry, slightly warmer days, with each layer needing about a week to harden.
Great Lakes Construction Co., the state’s contractor on the project, is investigating ways to move forward even if temperatures are not optimal, Fuller said. “They’re preparing for that,” she said.
Three girders to be installed Monday, four more after that
Fuller’s colleagues were on hand Monday to capture installation of the first three girders on camera.
The girders – each about 61 feet long, and weighing between 22,500 and 27,300 pounds – arrived by three semi-trailer trucks around 5 p.m. Sunday from Stupp Bridge in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The trucks backed onto the Beard bridge from Newport, with workers lifting the first girder by crane around 11:30 a.m. and moving it into place on the under side of I-471.
That was about two-and-half hours later than anticipated as workers did not have the right clamp on hand.
The second and third girders were to be placed later on Monday. Four additional girders, measuring 94 to 99 feet, arrive Tuesday and Wednesday.
Once the girders are in place, workers will install metal plates, fasteners and rebar to create supports for the new concrete decks, Fuller said.
“They’ll be out here 24/7,” she said.
Timeline since the Nov. 1 fire
Here’s what’s happened since a Halloween night fire put the bridge in the headlines.
Nov. 1: Fire erupts around 3:30 a.m. at the 1000 Hands Playground at Downtown’s Sawyer Point Park, immediately closing the Beard bridge overhead.
Nov. 1: The Cincinnati Fire Department’s fire investigation unit takes over a probe into the fire’s cause.
Nov. 2: Three of the four northbound lanes of the bridge, leading to northbound Interstate 471, reopen.
Nov. 27: The Ohio Department of Transportation says the southbound side of the Big Mac – nicknamed that because of its yellow paint and resemblance to the M in the McDonald’s restaurant signs – will remain closed until March.
The Nov. 1 fire at the 1000 Hands Playground in Sawyer Point Park melted steel girders under southbound Interstate 471.
Dec. 5: Transportation department photos reveal how the fire warped steel girders and officials put the cost of repairs at “at least $10 million.” On Monday, Fuller said the estimate is now $10.7 million, but noted that officials won’t know exact figures until the work is done.
Dec. 10: Crews finish removing damaged sections of the concrete deck of southbound I-471, and begin removing the damaged steel.
Dec. 10: Cincinnati police arrest and charge two men with aggravated arson for the fire, filing charges of obstruction of justice against two others.
More: Who’s in charge of Ohio River bridges? How often are they inspected?
Dec. 17: Steel begins arriving at Stupp Bridge to fashion into girders.
Dec. 20: Workers open the left-most lane of northbound I-471, after replacing 70 feet of highway wall charred by the fire and installing a fence on the wall’s edge to protect it from vandals.
Dec. 23: Transportation officials urge drivers to use Interstate 275 to travel between Ohio and Kentucky through the holiday season.
Ohio Department of Transportation officials visit Stupp Bridge in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Dec. 26, as Stupp fabricates metal girders for the Big Mac job.
Dec. 26: Transportation officials inspect progress of fabrication work at Stupp Bridge.
Sunday: Girders begin arriving on site for Monday installation.
The first of seven steel girders arrive at the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge on Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Steel girders being installed for Big Mac