Brent Spence Bridge could be closed for more than a month following fiery crash
Inspectors looking for damage done to nearly 60 year-old double-decker bridge
WLWT
Updated: 5:55 PM EST Nov 12, 2020
Todd Dykes, Investigative Reporter
From:
https://www.wlwt.com/article/brent-spence-bridge-could-be-closed-for-more-than-a-month-following-fiery-crash/34660147
When he saw the crash and fire, structural engineer James Swanson started thinking about how to get traffic moving again.
"As a structural engineer, the first concern that I would have would be – how high was the temperature and how long was the steel subjected to that temperature?" Swanson said. Swanson directs the University of Cincinnati's civil engineering program.
"They’re trying to determine whether the steel has been altered mechanically. If you have a temperature that’s high enough, you could change the grain structure of the steel. You could affect its strength," he said.
Swanson knows drivers in Greater Cincinnati and elsewhere hope the Brent Spence Bridge reopens soon, but he's inclined to think repairs could take a while.
"If they were to open it prematurely and then something actually failed, then the closure period would be longer in the end, and then we could have the potential for loss of life or even something more catastrophic," Swanson said.
Inspectors are expected to keep examining the bridge until at least Saturday.
Swanson said they may take a sample of the steel that burned and do a strength test on it at a lab that could get results back quickly.
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