(This story has been updated to add new information.)
It’s been two weeks since officials closed the southbound lanes of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge because of a massive fire under its deck, and the region’s other Ohio River bridges are experiencing heavier traffic as a result.
Southbound traffic on the Taylor-Southgate and Brent Spence bridges increased by more than 33,000 vehicles on the Wednesday after the fire compared to the same day a week before, according to an Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments analysis.
The analysis also showed that the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge had an additional 2,500 vehicles on its southbound lanes during that same period.
Daniel Carter Beard Bridge:No timeline yet for repair because extent of damage is unknown
Regional bridge traffic has declined since Big Mac fire
While OKI’s data offers a glimpse at how the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge’s closure is affecting traffic on the other connectors between downtown Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, it also showed that bridge traffic is actually down 10% since the fire.
“This is a regional issue crossing the boundaries of cities and states and impacting the region in many ways, and OKI collects and shares information to inform options and solutions across political boundaries,” OKI CEO Mark Policinski said in a statement.
The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, colloquially known as the Big Mac Bridge, connects Cincinnati to Newport via Interstate 471.
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Daniel Carter Beard Bridge beams, road deck damaged
The bridge was impacted by a fire that began in the early hours of Nov. 1 under the Cincinnati side of the bridge at the Sawyer Point 1000 Hands Playground. The fire’s cause remains under investigation. At least three beams, a portion of the road deck and a sign truss will need to be replaced, officials said.
Officials have been unable to say when the bridge will reopen because the extent of damage remains unknown.
Crews erected shoring towers under a section of the bridge to allow engineers to perform a “hands-on” inspection and assess the severity of the damage, the Ohio Department of Transportation said in a news release Friday.
Inspections completed; Pete Rose Way/Riverside Drive reopened
Officials said those inspections were completed Saturday and that they are reopening the stretch of Pete Rose Way and Riverside Drive that ran underneath the bridge. Crews were also able to remove the damaged sign truss.
The department said it will review the findings “to determine how much of the damaged area needs to be removed and replaced.”
Adjustments are also being made to traffic signals at key intersections in downtown Cincinnati, Covington and Newport to improve the flow of traffic. Officials said the city of Cincinnati’s Department of Transportation and Engineering is examining the timing of signals on Columbia Parkway.
“While traffic specialists will continue monitoring traffic and making adjustments to signal timings to ease congestion, drivers are advised to plan their routes in advance and allow extra time to travel through the area, especially during rush hour,” the release states.
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