CINCINNATI — Demolition of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge has begun, and repairs are expected to be finished in March, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
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The demolition is just one phase of the repairs being done on the bridge, also known as Big Mac Bridge. Crews began the demolition on Friday, according to our news partners at WCPO-9 TV.
“It’s a very precise very systematic, surgical type of demolition work that they’re doing,” ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller said.
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The repairs are being done after a large fire from a wooden playground underneath the bridge caused massive structural damage on Nov. 1.
The southbound lanes of the Big Mac Bridge have been shut down since. The bridge is set to fully reopen by the middle of March.
Right now, the biggest holdup is finding enough steel to custom-make new beams and girders, according to ODOT.
Officials say steel is in high demand because of a backlog of repairs needed in other places after Hurricane Helene.
Shipments are expected to arrive in mid-January.
“What you see today is crews in maybe one area taking a small section down,” Fuller said. “[They’re] kind of pecking away at the concrete.”
According to ODOT, a project like this normally can take up to three years to complete. However, the demolition crews should be done in less than four months.
Crews will then begin repairing concrete pier caps, constructing seven new girders, and pouring more than 7,600 square feet of concrete deck.
“We’ve shortened the timeline as much as we possibly can,” Fuller said. “We’ve condensed it into something that is as short as possible. We ask people to continue being patient; [and] understand that we are doing everything that we can to get it fixed and repaired as quickly as possible. We are still going to…we still have to wait for the materials to get delivered.”
Once the girders arrive, construction on the bridge will begin in January, according to Fuller. All work is expected to be completed in early March.
The demolition process will last roughly three weeks, according to Fuller.
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