CINCINNATI — Most of Cincinnati was surprised last week by a video showing a raging fire beneath the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, also known as the Big Mac Bridge.
But it turns out the Federal Highway Administration saw it coming.
One year ago, in response to a fire that closed a bridge on the Santa Monica Freeway, the agency warned state transportation departments to be on the lookout for flammable, explosive or hazardous materials stored under bridges.
The Ohio Department of Transportation says it was already working on the issue when the federal memo arrived, but it isn’t clear whether the 1,000 Hands Playground ever came under the scrutiny of state highway inspectors.
“We’ve always looked for things that were obviously flammable,” said ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning. “In fact, in our review, we found items like semi-trailers, dumpsters, construction materials, and debris from unhoused people under our bridges.”
But playgrounds?
“There was no warning about playgrounds," he said. "There was a warning about things stored under bridges. That’s what we were looking for — things stored under bridges.”
The WCPO 9 I-Team has been looking into every aspect of the bridge fire because of the road closures, detours and loss of commerce it caused in the I-471 corridor.
On Friday, Nov. 1 around 3:30 a.m., the 1,000 Hands Playground in Sawyer Point Park caught on fire, causing part of the bridge to burn. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a state of emergency Wednesday "due to the dangerous conditions and damages."
Officials said no one was injured and there were no hazardous materials burnt, but the entire southbound side of the bridge from Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky is shut down indefinitely. One northbound lane is also shut down while repairs are underway.
A release from ODOT said designs are being finalized for the shoring towers that will stabilize the bridge, with construction planned to begin at the end of the week.
Casey Jones, a Kansas City-based engineering consultant, said it could take two months to get the damaged bridge back in service. Jones, who featured last week’s bridge fire on his YouTube channel, said the repairs will require steel components that typically take eight weeks to order.
“I think ODOT officials have acknowledged that not only are they replacing those girders that were damaged, but the deck is going to be replaced as well as those sign trusses,” Jones said.
On the issue of whether the playground amounted to flammable material stored beneath a bridge, Jones said it wouldn’t be “beyond the imagination” to flag it as a potential problem.
“Based on my own experience, I know a lot of these playgrounds have wood or plastic. They often have cushioning for fall protection. A lot of those are rubber or some synthetic material and of course, if that starts to catch on fire, they burn at very high temperature,” he said.
Bruning said ODOT inspectors look for materials that are “obviously flammable” as opposed to objects that could catch fire. He sent March 2022 pictures from Google Maps showing the I-10 overpass in California was being used as a makeshift warehouse.
“You can see there are shipping pallets, cardboard, vehicles and other flammable items that were being stored under the bridge,” Bruning said. “This is what the Federal Highway Administration was asking states to look for in their November 15, 2023 memo.”
Cincinnati Parks spokesman Rocky Merz said the playground was built of “composite wood with a rubber playground pour-in-place surface.” He also said a replacement playground could be months away, and “most likely at a different location.”
Cincinnati Parks warned its Facebook followers last month that “staff and community members recently came across the ashes of a fire in various parks.” People responded to the Oct. 11 post to say they’ve seen evidence of fires at Ault Park and Winton Woods.
The I-Team asked Merz if those incidents were related to the Sawyer Point fire.
“I wouldn't want to speak for or get out ahead of the fire investigators who are doing the bridge fire investigation. However, I believe I can confidently say these are not related,” Merz said. “We, unfortunately, commonly have people starting fires in areas of parks they shouldn't be. And it's not necessarily camping-related. We were raising awareness on social to deter the activity in general.”
The Federal Highway Administration memo offered no guidance on whether playgrounds are suitable beneath bridges, but it defined flammable as “capable of being easily ignited and of burning quickly.”
It also quoted a federal statute that says: “…any structures, buildings, or facilities which utilize combustible materials (such as wood, wood fiber, plastic etc.) that may be fire hazards … cannot be allowed under or adjacent to overpasses and bridges, absent a showing that such uses would provide for the safe and secure operation and maintenance of the highway facility.”
