From the Cincinnati Enquirer: http://www.cincinnati.com/...
Officials have closed southbound Interstate 75 indefinitely after a "major" collapse of an overpass north of the new Hopple Street bridge that left one injured and one dead, according to police dispatch.
The collapse occurred at about 10:30 p.m. At least one tractor trailer was damaged by the collapse, according to emergency communications.
An extended recovery operation is underway.
This is a section of highway that carries nearly 150,000 vehicles per day. The implications are enormous.
This is a few miles south of where John Boehner grew up.
An indefinite closure will wreak havoc.
Update: This story is not as dramatic as originally reported. The bridge that collapsed was an overhead exit ramp that was in the process of being demolished and removed. It was not a bridge on the mainline of I-75. Thus it should only take a few days to remove the debris and restore traffic flow. Had it been a mainline bridge the interstate would have been closed for months. I-75 carries a large volume of truck traffic, it runs all the way from Detroit to Florida and much of that truck traffic is associated with the auto industry. A long term closure would have been a huge problem.
This does illustrate however our vulnerability to failing infrastructure.
Also worth noting, the site of the collapse is just a few miles north of the Brent Spence Bridge which carries I-75 (and I-71) over the Ohio River. That bridge is badly in need of updating, has been for years, but nothing has happened due to the lack of funds and inaction by Congress. Ohio has proposed funding construction through the use of tolls but Kentucky (where most of the bridge is ) has rebelled at that idea. So nothing happens.
http://www.wlwt.com/...
The Brent Spence Bridge - which carries traffic on Interstate 75 between Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky - has received lower grades throughout the 10 years of inspection reports obtained through a public-records request by The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The bridge's overall "sufficiency" rating, on a scale from 1 to 100, was 59 in last year's report, graded as a "C-minus." The bridge rated a 78 in 2006. It has gotten worsening scores in major categories of upkeep, maintenance and structural integrity.