Want to demo a bridge this Saturday?

Thanks my PIO friends at ODOT. #kaboom

@rusnivek

Controlled Demolition of Old Innerbelt Bridge to Take Place July 12
Watch LIVE at Cleveland.com or wkyc.com

Hold on to your hats! The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Trumbull-Great Lakes-Ruhlin (TGR) are pleased to announce that controlled explosive demolition of the steel skeleton of the 1959 Innerbelt Bridge will take place at first light on Saturday morning July 12.

Controlled demolition will drop five (5) of the nine (9) steel spans of the old bridge. The team which includes Joseph B. Fay Company and Controlled Demolition, Inc. has used a mixture of both traditional demolition along with the “controlled” – or explosive – demolition method.  The bridge railings, lights, barriers and concrete driving surface were all removed using traditional methods.  Specific spans over the river and railroads were also disassembled in a traditional manner. Concrete piers will be demolished this summer using traditional methods.

The plan protects the businesses that operate from the Flats as well as people living and working in the Tremont neighborhood.

Members of the public are invited to watch the event live at www.Cleveland.com or www.wkyc.com. Due to limited view-sheds, only a small public viewing area near the corner of East 14th Street and Broadway Avenue is available.  The area will be accessible beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 12. Paid, public parking is available in downtown lots – a short walk from the viewing area. Even better, ride with our friends at RTA!  The #19 bus provides direct access to the site. Visit www.rideRTA.com for more!

A 1,000 foot perimeter will be set around the blast zone and many local roadways including I-90, the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, Abbey Avenue and others will be closed during the event.  For a map of anticipated closures and closures times, please log-on to www.Innerbelt.org.

ODOT is in the midst of replacing the 1959 bridge with two new structures – one to carry traffic in each direction.  The pair have been named in honor of statesman George V. Voinovich. Replacement of the 1959 bridge is vital to the success of moving people in and out of downtown Cleveland now and in the future.  It will enhance capacity, bolster our economy and ensure the safety of motorists.  The first of the pair is now open and temporarily carrying traffic in both directions until completion of the second new bridge in late 2016.

Members of the public with questions or concerns are encouraged to call the Innerbelt hotline at 216.344.0069 or email info@Innerbelt.org. 

In this view, Tremont is to the left and downtown is to the right. The spans marked in yellow will be demolished using the “controlled” demolition method on July 12.