Posted on 06/28/2009 2:46:42 AM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
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Two steel plates along the bottom of a truss arch on the Main Avenue Bridge had rusted so thin in September 2007 that one had a four-inch hole -- leading transportation officials to worry privately that the span was in danger of collapsing.
But no one warned the public about those fears.
Although the outer lanes of the six-lane span were immediately closed, Ohio Department of Transportation officials said in news releases at the time only that they were repairing the bridge's structural steel.
No specifics about the extent of the problem were revealed because the media did not ask, Bonnie Teeuwen, ODOT deputy director in charge of the district that includes Cleveland, said this month after The Plain Dealer learned of the 2007 repairs.
"We would have laid it out -- we have nothing to hide," she said.
The bridge was similar in design to the Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis that had fallen a month earlier, killing 13, and the rusted chords -- steel plates joined to create a rectangular tube -- were "fracture critical."
In other words, if one failed, the entire bridge could crumble in a domino effect called progressive collapse.
As anxiety about bridges consumed motorists in Cleveland and across the nation because of what happened in Minnesota, drivers on the 69-year-old Main Avenue Bridge never knew how dire its condition was.
The bridge, which links the East and West Shoreways and carries 35,000 vehicles a day, reopened to all traffic after about a month.
"If there was any concern about the bridge we would not have left it open," Teeuwen said.
But here's what she wrote on Sept. 10, 2007, in a request to use $150,000 of district funds for emergency repairs:
"The localized buckling indicates that the lower chords are overstressed. Failure to repair these chords as soon as possible could result in the collapse of the suspended span."
While Teeuwen said the alarming wording was necessary to get money immediately for repairs instead of having to seek bids, Mike Malloy, the district's bridge engineer, said concern was high.
"There was a hole you could see through, it was all wobbly," he said, referring to one of the chords. "We were all nervous wrecks about it."
In fact, Teeuwen's request for money described the chords as thin and buckling, with holes. In some areas, the documents said, the 3/8-inch steel had worn to just 1/8-inch thick.
Outwardly, the six-lane bridge appears to be in better shape than its truss-span counterpart, the Inner Belt Bridge. That bridge is so deteriorated that trucks are banned, lanes are closed, and it is slated for replacement in 2013.
But under its bright blue paint, the steel that holds up the Main Avenue Bridge is thinner and weaker than ODOT officials thought. The span was downgraded from satisfactory to poor in its most recent inspection done last summer, indicating considerable deterioration but putting no restrictions on its use.
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Click: Link to article
Is this a consequence of the doctrine of “forty year economic life”. Most engineering economics teachs that in considering the economic life of a structure, an engineer should not consider a longer time frame than forty years, since money discounted forty years into the future is essentially worthless.
I’d say its more likely a consequence of Democrats running the local government for most of the past 50 years.
The infrastructure is crumbling everywhere in Cleveland as the money to maintain it was p1553d away over the decades on social projects, corruption and vote-buying.
Rat dominance is so great here, that most offices don’t even have a Republican bothering to run - the party throws someone up and they run unopposed.
Every politician likes to appear at a ribbon cutting, none at a bridge inspection.
Another problem is that muncipal civil servants are often little more than inert rent seekers. Privatizing critical infrastructure would go a long way to preventing these kinds of disasters. We could either pay tolls or the city could chose to solicit contractors. (Which opens the door to corruption.) Knowing that your meal ticket is going shut down if the bridge fails or is out of service is a huge incentive.
Not just bridges but the nation’s dams are in trouble. Back in 2000, 1 in 8 were listed as “high hazard”.
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=7658
Most civil servants become retirees upon receipt of their first paycheck.
My experience working for the NYC Department Parks as a seasonal parkman ($h|t picker) in high school has made me a lifelong enemy of civil service, especially the NYC variant.
You got that right. Cuyahoga County is a democrat stronghold. Democratic governor. Democrats contol ODOT. ODOT is just another political entity.
“You got that right. Cuyahoga County is a democrat stronghold.”
That’s why C-town is going to sh*t. Democrats lining their own pockets and crooks like Jimmy Dimora, Frank Russo, Tim Hagan, Frank Jackson...all those losers running it into the ground. Those idiots voting for these jackoffs get what they deserve... No real reason to go downtown. I wouldn’t trust being down there at night...
I returned to Northern Ohio in 2006 (Medina County, adjacent to Cuyahoga county) - and returned to Tennessee in March, 2008. What a liberal hell-hole. I had more than one argument with a liberal or two that had the rediculous belief that my paycheck was theirs to spend. Ignorant idiots. And they wonder why unemployment locally is so high.
I left Cuyahoga Cty 15 years ago because of higher taxes/insurance etc...glad I did. Although NE Ohio in general is a cost effective place to live, it’s sad to watch the decay helped by the nefarious creatures of the Democratic party. This will also not help outside counties and their property values as the city/county continues into the abyss.
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