Ohio to replace I-71 Bridge

The Ohio Department of Transportation chose Omnipro Services to replace the aging Jeremiah Morrow Bridge, located between Columbus, Ohio, and Cincinnati, with the $88 million set aside from its fiscal budget.

The I-71 Bridge, which serves 60,00 vehicles a day with two lanes going each way, is still safe but cannot support trucks over 120,000 lb, according to Associated Press reports.

Onmipro will work on replacing the existing deck truss bridge with a concrete cast-in-place, segmental box structure using the balanced cantilever method of construction.

The bridge has undergone major rework since its inception in 1965 because of significant slope failures. According to Onmipro, the construction is complicated and demanding because of the bridge’s steep embankments and lack of roadway systems underneath.

Construction is expected to be finished in four years and will not hinder traffic in either direction, a state official told the AP.