Focus on teamwork

When a fire damaged a critical bridge in Cincinnati that carries approximately 100,000 daily commuters and freight haulers between Kentucky and Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) tapped The Great Lakes Construction Co. to complete the emergency reconstruction project.

While a major bridge reconstruction typically takes about two to three years, Great Lakes Construction, a Hinckley, Ohio-based heavy civil construction company with an office in Cincinnati, expedited the process, working with collaborators to restore the bridge in just over three months.

“Working collaboratively with the state and also the design firm and vendor partners, we were able to get traffic reopened in 100 days,” says Tom Hackett, project manager for The Great Lakes Construction Co. who focuses on alternative delivery procurement models associated with design and construction on emergency projects.

On Nov. 1, 2024, a devastating fire broke out beneath the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, commonly known as the “Big Mac Bridge” for its two yellow arches across the span carrying I-471 over the Ohio River, compromising the bridge’s southbound approach. The fire spread quickly, melting seven steel girders and more than 7,600 square feet of concrete deck.

The fire, which was determined to have been set intentionally by four people who since have been charged, caused $11 million in damage to the bridge and road and another $2 million in damage to city property, according to court documents, making it one of the most expensive arson fires ever to occur in the area.

ODOT contracted with Great Lakes Construction as well as an engineering design firm, Charleston, West Virginia-based E.L. Robinson Engineering, to take on the emergency-style contract.

“What was unique about it was that it was more of like a design assistance contract,” Hackett says. “The state of Ohio, the design firm that the state hired and [Great Lakes Construction] all worked hand in hand throughout the development of the procurement, the design and the construction, and we all used each other’s expertise to fast-track all three of those things.”

The demolition

A portion of the superstructure of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, originally built in the 1970s, had to be removed before reconstruction could begin, including the concrete parapet, the concrete deck and several existing steel girders.

Great Lakes Construction hired a specialty engineering firm that focuses on complex engineering challenges to tackle the demolition.

“This was a unique challenge,” Hackett says. “Several of the steel girders were melted from the fire beneath the bridge, so the structural capacity wasn’t typical for what we would expect in a normal demolition process.”

The engineering firm analyzed the project and the two firms worked together with the state to develop a detailed demolition plan.

Crews completed a surgical demolition to remove the damaged bridge structure, using excavators with specialty demolition attachments to “munch” the deck in place in certain areas.

“Once we got out of the areas where the steel had deformed, it turned into a more traditional demolition with saw-cutting the concrete deck and then using an excavator to remove the steel or the concrete slabs,” Hackett says.

“Then we used a crane to pick and lower the existing girders that had to be removed.”

Recovered steel was transported to local scrapyards for recycling, he adds.

The reconstruction

Once the damaged bridge structure was removed, rebuilding could begin.

Great Lakes Construction ordered new steel girders and new bronze bearings while also refurbishing many of the bridge’s existing bearings that were damaged in the fire.

When the girders and bearings were in place, crews were able to start forming and pouring the deck and placing the new parapet before opening the bridge back up to traffic.

The Great Lakes Construction team completed a thorough and detailed engineering analysis to determine the most appropriate way to remove damaged sections of the bridge with safety in mind.

Safety precautions included installing shoring towers to help stabilize the structure. The company also brought mobile tying-off points to the site and installed them on the deck during demolition for workers who were walking around on foot.

Project challenges

To meet the ambitious 100-day schedule, Great Lakes Construction crews worked 24/7 through wintery weather, including below-zero temperatures and arctic blasts, Hackett says.

Racing against time to finish the engineering and design phases as well as the construction and manufacture of bridge elements at the required pace was challenging, to say the least.

The biggest challenges were the aggressive timeline set by the state of Ohio and negative public sentiment—commuters facing daily gridlock and local business cut off from customers feared a multiyear closure.

To overcome that intense public pressure, Great Lakes Construction was proactive in providing public information, working closely with state and local agencies to offer regular updates through press conferences, social media and direct engagement.

“The public wanted it done immediately,” Hackett says. “You couldn’t have done it fast enough for a lot of the people in the city that were used to using the bridge every day.”

Another major hurdle was pouring a new concrete bridge deck in January. Pouring concrete in subfreezing temperatures is difficult, requiring heated enclosures, chemical admixtures and planning to ensure proper curing.

“We ran into a lot of weather challenges coming out of December and into January and February—that’s when there were several arctic blasts that came into town,” Hackett says. “We had subzero temperatures that we worked through for some of the demolition and the forming and during the concrete deck pour as well. We worked through all of that—normally we wouldn’t, but since it was an emergency situation, we did.”

When the Big Mac bridge successfully reopened Feb. 9, far ahead of initial projections, Hackett says the public response was overwhelming and grateful.

For Great Lakes Construction, the achievement underscores its dedication to ensuring safe, efficient and resilient infrastructure. The most rewarding part of the project, Hackett says, was the teamwork.

“All the vendors, the state, the designer, the contractor, everybody that was involved in the project prioritized the project and pushed their other work aside to focus on this one project and really put the focus on teamwork to get it done. Otherwise, it never would have been done that fast,” Hackett says. “We really appreciate the dedication and teamwork from everybody at Great Lakes, ODOT, E.L. Robinson and all of our vendor partners that really helped push this thing through.”

The author was managing editor of Construction & Demolition Recycling, a sister publication of Recycling Today.