Interstate 90 Grand River bridges

Coordinates: 41°44′07″N 81°06′15″W / 41.73518°N 81.10414°W / 41.73518; -81.10414
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Interstate 90 Grand River bridges
Coordinates41°44′07″N 81°06′15″W / 41.73518°N 81.10414°W / 41.73518; -81.10414
Carries I-90
CrossesGrand River
LocaleLake County, Ohio
Preceded byTwo cantilever truss bridges
Characteristics
MaterialSteel girder
Location
Map

The Interstate 90 Grand River bridges are two steel girder bridges in Lake County, Ohio, on the Leroy Township/Perry Township boundary southwest of Madison, carrying Interstate 90 (I-90) over the Grand River.

Former bridges[edit]

The I-90 bridges replace two cantilever truss bridges at the same location. Built in 1960, they were 869 feet (265 m) in length and 150 feet (46 m) in height.[1]

On May 24, 1996, a gusset plate failed on the eastbound span, similar to the later failure on the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2007, prompting the Ohio Department of Transportation to close the bridge later that day and divert traffic; the cause originally was attributed to an overloaded semi-trailer truck.[2] The detour followed the State Route 44 and State Route 2 freeways, U.S. Route 20, and State Route 528, the latter which traverses downtown Madison. With the roads near the east end of the detour not equipped to carry the increased traffic, police officers from the village of Madison were dispatched to three intersections for traffic control.[3] The detour lasted until the following month, when highway crossovers on each side of the damaged bridge permitted eastbound traffic to use the westbound span with westbound traffic.[4] The eastbound span was repaired throughout the rest of the year and reopened on November 4.[5][6]

In a project authorized in 2002[1] and lasting from March 2007 to July 2010,[7] the old bridges were demolished. The eastbound span was demolished starting September 28, 2008, allowing the new westbound span to be built in its place, and the old westbound span was demolished beginning in late 2009 and finishing the morning of February 14, 2010.[1][8][9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Farkas, Karen (September 5, 2009). "Work completed on twin bridges on Interstate 90 over the Grand River". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  2. ^ Harter, Kevin; Patrick O'Donnell; Roy S. Gutterman (May 25, 1996). "Bridge damage closes I-90". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  3. ^ O'Donnell, Patrick; Kevin Harter (May 26, 1996). "Detour for I-90 improves to 'slow'". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  4. ^ O'Donnell, Patrick (May 29, 1996). "$400,000 fix to have I-90 bridge open in June". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  5. ^ O'Donnell, Patrick (August 5, 1996). "Unique repairs to start on span". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  6. ^ Kuehner, John C. (November 5, 1996). "No Fanfare as I-90 Bridge Opens Again". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 8, 2009.
  7. ^ "2009 Construction Projects in Lake County". Ohio Department of Transportation District 12, January 22, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-09-08.
  8. ^ "Weekend Work for September 26 through 28" (press release). Ohio Department of Transportation District 12, September 26, 2008. Retrieved on 2009-09-08.
  9. ^ "Remaining I-90 Bridge over the Grand River Scheduled for Demolition" (press release). Ohio Department of Transportation District 12, February 12, 2010. Retrieved on 2010-02-14.

External links[edit]

41°44′07″N 81°06′15″W / 41.73518°N 81.10414°W / 41.73518; -81.10414