Ohio to Replace Aging I-71 Bridge

The Ohio Department of Transportation has set aside $88 million of its fiscal budget to replace the aging Jeremiah Morrow Bridge, located between Columbus and Cincinnati on Interstate 71.

According to reports by the Associated Press, the bridge is safe, but can no longer support heavy loads. In fact, trucks over 120,000 pounds cannot cross.

The bridge is similar to one that collapsed in Minneapolis in 2007, which killed 13 people and injured 145.

The Ohio Department of Transportation chose Omnipro Services to provide construction support and construction site services on the project. According to Omnipro, the existing deck truss bridges will be replaced with a concrete cast-in-place segmental box structure using the balanced cantilever method of construction. The project is expected to be finished in about four years.

The original bridge was built in 1965, but it has undergone major rework since then due to significant slope failures. Omnipro says the site is very demanding due to steep embankments and the lack of any roadway systems under the current bridge, and this may complicate the construction.

Currently, the bridge services about 60,000 vehicles a day, with two lanes going each way, the AP reports. Construction will not cause traffic to shut down in either direction, a state official told the AP.