Multiple entities investigate fatal bridge collapse over major Ohio highway
Scripps NewsJanuary 20, 2015
CINCINNATI — A collapsed bridge that fell onto Interstate 75 in Cincinnati will keep the major thoroughfare closed for a few days.
Officials announced Tuesday that the investigation and cleanup into the incident that happened Monday evening will take at least until Wednesday night, and could go longer. The catastrophic collapse sent hundreds of tons of machinery and concreted into the traffic below. A construction worker in a backhoe was killed, and a truck driver was injured.
Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell said the old northbound off-ramp to Hopple Street came down at about 10:30 p.m. The collapse crushed the construction worker, pinning his body under the rubble. Emergency crews used airbags to lift the wreckage off the worker and removed his body at about 3 a.m. Tuesday.
The victim was later identified as 35-year-old Brandon Carl of Augusta, Ky.
Emergency crews also shut down nearby roads to keep traffic from flowing into the area. Cincinnati officials urged motorists to find alternate routes.
Blackwell estimated southbound I-75 would be closed for "at least 48 hours," meaning it may not open until Thursday.
City officials said the accident is being treated as a death investigation, not a traffic incident. During a Tuesday morning news conference, officials said the area was still very unsafe.
The preliminary part of the death investigation is complete, and an autopsy is planned. After that, officials will focus on why the collapsed happened.
City officials said CPD will handle the death investigation and the Ohio Department of Transportation will handle the collapse investigation.
ODOT officials said the construction workers were proceeding with a planned demolition job at the time of the accident. Transportation officials said crews do not typically close roadways to demolish a structure.
A foreman at the conference said once the main part of the wreckage on the roadway is removed, they will be able to assess the damage to I-75. The contractor, Kokosing, is responsible for debris removal. It may also be subject to fines for the roadway closures.
About 200,000 vehicles travel both ways in that area each day. The highway is a main travel route for trucks.
ODOT investigators would not speculate on what caused the collapse. They added Kokosing had some of the highest safety ratings in the industry.
"There needs to be excavation and then assessment of the overall structure of the remaining bridge parts and the pavement itself. . . . We're going to be looking at all those factors before reopening I-75," Blackwell told media on Tuesday afternoon. "Please stay away from the area and leave at an appropriate time to get to work. . . . This is going to impact traffic for quite some time."
The police chief said the semi that was under the overpass when it collapsed sustained severe damage and the driver is "very lucky."
"A matter of seconds and his fate would probably have been different," Blackwell said.
The driver was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries.
Blackwell said city workers and emergency crews will need the public's help as the situation moves forward.
"We're going to do the best we can. Obviously, it's a very tragic situation and we're going to work our way through it, but we're going to ask for some patience from the Cincinnati community," he said, acknowledging that he was struck by the enormity of the damage and said the situation was unique in his experience.
"You know I've never seen anything like this in my life. The entire overpass has just collapsed straight down onto the freeway. So it's quite a sight and unfortunately a person did lose their life," Blackwell said.
City Manager Harry Black called the incident a "tragedy" and said "something went wrong" during construction Monday night.
"It's a workplace incident. You've got a lot of heavy equipment in a construction site," Black said. "Our teams are here surveying the situation. We will work with the state department of transportation to figure out what happened."
Cincinnati Fire Department officials called the incident a "catastrophic pancake collapse" and said the old overpass was in the process of being demolished when it came down.
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley issued a statement about the accident saying:
"I want to express my condolences to the family and friends of the construction worker killed in Monday night's collapse of the I-75 overpass in Camp Washington. My thoughts and prayers also are extended to the truck driver injured in the collapse. This accident was horrible and senseless, and I am confident the Ohio Department of Transportation will conduct a thorough investigation to determine its cause. I also want to commend the personnel from our police and fire departments who responded to the scene. Their professionalism was a factor in possibly preventing further injuries or deaths."
Kokosing, a company based in Westerville, Ohio, was tasked with the construction of the overpass. According to the firm's website, it has won awards for safety in the past.
The northbound ramp to Hopple Street that collapsed Monday was closed to the public after a new exit ramp to Hopple opened Friday, Dec. 26. The new ramp is on the east side of I-75, while the old ramp that collapsed Monday was on the west.
"You know, we're used to the loud construction and the vibrations for the last two or three years but this was, you know, 100 times louder. ... The significance of the impact and the tremors were deafening," a resident who lives near the scene said.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, one out of 11 bridges in Ohio is "structurally deficient."
The bureau states that there are 219 bridges from Cincinnati to Middletown and those bridges serve 16 drivers every second. Officials said those deficient bridges serve 1,397,319 daily drivers.
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