90 80
OHIO STATE EDITION
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A Supplement to:
422
6 80 24
6
4
71
76
199 30 30 75
68
30 77
71 23 22 68
4
70 70
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70
22 71
75
77
27
September 10 2016
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Vol. XVIII • No. 19
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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Ohio Connection: Ed Bryden, Strongsville, OH • 1-800-810-7640
New I-74 Bridge to Reduce Congestion, Improve Safety By Irwin Rapoport CEG CORRESPONDENT
The $8.2 million Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) North Bend Road Bridge replacement in Cincinnati began on April 18 when crews from the Sunesis Construction Co. arrived on the scene for the project that will be completed in August 2017. The bridge is located between West Fork and Boomer roads in Green Township. The project is part of an I-74 rehabilitation project and includes resurfacing the pavement on I-74 and the ramps at this interchange, repair a slope failure along the shoulder of the exit ramp from westbound I-74 to North Bend Road to stabilize it, and wider sidewalks on the bridge. “The new bridge will reduce congestion and improve safety with extended ramp deceleration lane across the bridge,” said Brian Cunningham, a communications manager of ODOT, “and provide an improved route toward Cincinnati for oversized loads.” The work is divided into two phases, with Phase 1 ending in the fall 2016, which will maintain one lane in each direction and a walkway on one side of North Bend Road over I-74 to be open to pedestrians as the southbound side of the bridge is rebuilt and Phase 2 — winter 2016 through the summer, with two southbound lanes and one northbound lane open to traffic and the walkway on North Bend Road over I-74 to be closed to pedestrians for approximately six months. The work will concentrate on the new northbound side. Maintaining traffic is an important part of the project, and this will be done by using temporary roads, lane shifts and posted detours. Arrow boards and signs are being used to alert motorists of work zone and traffic restrictions. Ensuring the safety of the construction workers, motorists and pedestrians is a priority for ODOT. The current bridge carries 3,500 vehicles daily. The new bridge, with two lanes in each direction and
The $8.2 million Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) North Bend Road Bridge replacement in Cincinnati began on April 18 when crews from the Sunesis Construction Co. arrived on the scene for the project that will be completed in August 2017.
a southbound ramp lane, will be able to carry 3,700 vehicles daily. Built in 1969, the bridge has reached the end of its lifespan and is deteriorating. More than 54,000 vehicles use this section of the I74 daily. Cunningham said that vertical clearance on I-74 will rise from 14.5 ft. (4.4 m) to nearly 17 ft. (5 m) so that will be able to han-
dle large loads carried by many trucks today. The work also addresses a problem created by an incident when a truck hit the bridge and bent a steel beam. “The planning started in the winter of 2012 and completed in 2015,” he said. “We didn’t receive any concerns and the general feeling was that an improved bridge was needed to meet local needs. Structurally
there are no issues with design, but the recent opening of a nearby hospital required an adjustment to the maintenance of traffic operations. The key was to ensure that ambulances could reach the emergency room rapidly and meetings with representatives from ODOT, the hospital, Green Township, and the Hamilton County see BRIDGE page 2