When the old Hopple Street Bridge collapsed late Monday night, many said it would take days to reopen I-75 in Cincinnati. Wednesday morning, traffic was moving through the corridor and all of the debris from the accident was cleared from the scene.
The Cincinnati Police Department and the Ohio Department of Transportation worked together to expedite the clearing on I-75. Approximately 130,000 vehicles use the route daily, and to avoid the accident motorists had to take I-71 south or I-275 around the city.
Officials still do not know the cause of the collapse, which killed worker Brandon Carl. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Kokosing Construction Co., which was handling the bridge demolition, each conducted their own investigation of the accident. The Cincinnati Police Department treated it as a death investigation with special investigators rather than a traffic investigation.
In an attempt to prep the bridge for demolition, Carl was walking on top of the span when it collapsed. At the time of the accident there were heavy machinery on the bridge, which is a common maneuver when removing an old structure, but engineering is required and officials are not ready to determine the cause of the tragedy.
