AASHTO Journal, 10 July 2015
The Ohio Department of Transportation has hired a contractor to quickly replace a major Interstate 70 bridge at Columbus, after it was destroyed July 1 when a tanker truck hauling ethanol overturned underneath that span and set off an intense fire.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is providing $1 million in “quick release” funds from the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief account, which would cover much of the cost of bridge repairs that the state DOT says should be completed by Aug. 1.
Meanwhile, a reported 100,000 vehicles a day are being rerouted that would normally use the capital city’s eastbound I-70 bridge, at an interchange that also connects with ramps to I-270 around the city.
Both routes are heavily used both for local and long-distance traffic.
“Thousands of commuters and businesses in central Ohio rely on this vital link every day to get to jobs and transport their goods and products,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. “These initial funds are a down payment on additional resources to help restore this key connector.”
The state agency awarded a $1.2 million contract to complete the repair within 30 days, with incentive payments for early completion and penalties for going late. Ohio’s DOT reportedly faces additional costs to the contractor for the traffic rerouting.
It also plans to pursue repayment of costs from the Akron-based trucking company that owned the tanker truck.
Reports said no one was seriously injured in the accident. But the USDOT said the truck carried 8,000 gallons of ethanol that caught fire beneath the overpass with such extreme heat that it “cracked the concrete, melted metal reinforcement bars and compromised structural steel, requiring the replacement of a roughly 60-foot span. The severe damage also closed three ramps connecting I-70 and I-270.”
The FHWA emergency funds will be used to replace the deck of the bridge on I-70 and reconstruct the pavement underneath, and to reimburse the state for emergency work done in the aftermath of the tanker fire including the detours.
The FHWA also left the door open for more to come, saying it “will provide additional funds in the future as permanent repairs are identified and cost estimates are completed.”
