
A 31-year-old bridge was shut down on Monday after a shocking discovery alerted officials to its potential danger.
ODOT and the city of Streetsboro, Ohio made the decision to close the bridge on State Route 14 after realizing that it was in a state of emergency. Amazingly, the problem was only spotted by chance. ODOT spokesman Justin Chesnic explained that the issue was called to their attention after nearby contractors noticed a sag in the bridge caused by its corroded and damaged pillars.
Fox 8 reported that the damage was so severe that several pillars even twisted under the weight from the bridge they could not support.
The bridge was examined on Tuesday, and inspectors deemed the bridge too dangerous to be fixed. Instead, the entire bridge must be replaced. The bridge was last inspected in April, and even then it caused reasons for concern by scoring a grade of 7 on a scaled of 1-9 (9 meaning needing a new bridge).
Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broska believes that this discovery prevented a disaster as many large trucks often use the route and cross over the bridge. However, he could not explain exactly why the problem wasn’t discovered during the April inspection.
Instead he offered the following comment, “Traditionally, from my understanding, the water is very high in April and as you will see when we look at it this corrosion is sub-surface– below the level of the water where it normally is– and I don’t know if they actually put a person in the water to actually look at the bridge pilings at that time.”
The bridge has now been named a class ‘A’ emergency, which allows for an expedited replacement. However, even at that rate, the bridge is expected to remain closed for at least 6 months. In the meantime, ODOT has posted signs signifying alternate routes for traffic.