CINCINNATI — The first replacement girders needed to continue construction on the Big Mac Bridge repair have arrived in Cincinnati, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced Sunday.
The Ohio Department of Transportation announced Sunday that the girders were headed from a fabrication shop in Bowling Green, Kentucky to Cincinnati. They arrived around 4:30 p.m.
The first girders for the I-471 repair have departed Stupp Bridge in Bowling Green, KY. They should arrive in Cincinnati later this afternoon. Details at https://t.co/Q9MUihidBQ pic.twitter.com/kuD0BQiLH3
— ODOT Cincinnati (@ODOT_Cincinnati) January 12, 2025
ODOT said the trailers carrying the large steel girders backed across the closed southbound I-471 lanes to the construction site on the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge to complete the delivery.
Crews will begin unloading the girders Monday morning with a crane, and they will be lifted into place and secured by ironworkers, ODOT said. Two more girders will arrive Monday and two others will arrive Tuesday for a total of seven girders delivered at the site.
ODOT said additional reinforcing steel will arrive at the site Thursday.
The girders, or steel support beams, on the bridge, were severely damaged in the Nov. 1 fire started at 1,000 Hands Playground in Sawyer Point Park. Four people were arrested for their involvement in the fire, with two of the individuals facing aggravated arson charges.
RELATED | New charges for four arrested for involvement in Big Mac Bridge fire
In December, ODOT officials visited the Stupp Bridge fabrication shop in Kentucky. Each of the seven girders weighs over 22,000 pounds, and each of the beams spans more than 60 feet long, with some as long as almost 99 feet.
On Tuesday, ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller told WCPO that last week's weather didn't affect the bridge's repair schedule, which is set to have the southbound lanes of the bridge reopen in March.
"We just have to hope that we don't have another storm like this," Fuller said. "Once we get started doing the installation of those girders, that is key. And obviously, when we go to pour the deck, we simply want better weather, because those things have to be done. And so we'll be, you know, keeping our fingers crossed and saying prayers that Mother Nature is king and cooperates so that we can get all the work done."
In December, Stupp Bridge president Derek Clemons said repairs are moving at a rapid pace.
“It’s probably one of the faster turnarounds I’ve seen on an emergency project,” Clemons told WCPO.
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