ODOT: Innerbelt Bridge to shut down midweek for stress test

CLEVELAND --A spokeswoman for ODOT tells WKYC that the entire Innerbelt Bridge in both directions will be shut down sometime during the overnight hours this week for a stress test.

The test is expected to happen mid-week and ODOT says the bridge will not be closed before 11 p.m. Additional details are expected to be released on Monday.

The spokeswoman says the closure of the entire bridge is needed in order for this particular stress test to be completed.  ODOT says the temporary shutdown has nothing to do with weight load.

Already this week, ODOT closed two lanes in each direction on the bridge as a precautionary measure until additional gauges can be installed on the bridge to determine the extent of deterioration and age on the steel support beams.

ODOT has also closed additional on-ramps to the bridge. Currently, the Ontario, East 9th, East 14th and the I-77 North entrance ramps to I-90 West are closed.

There is no timetable for how long the lane and ramp closures will last but they are expected to last through next week.

"The lane closings will continue at least through next week," said Ohio Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jocelynn Clemings.

Shutting down the extra lanes and ramps, ODOT says, is designed to reduce the weight crossing the bridge structure each day. On a typical day, more than 119,000 vehicles use the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge.

The additional closures have led to heavy congestion and gridlock during the Thursday morning rush hour. If possible, commuters are asked to find alternate routes. (See suggestions at bottom of article.)

ODOT says previous inspections have shown that the steel beams on the bridge are aging faster than expected. New inspections, using an ultrasonic gauge -- or strain gauges -- began on Sept. 28. The gauges will allow engineers to calculate the support capability of five section of the bridge which earlier tests showed below standards.  

ODOT says until those measurements can be made the closures will remain in place. Based on the ultrasonic scans, Director Beasley will then determine what additional action needs to be taken including possible reinforcement of the existing structure and continued traffic restrictions.

The Innerbelt Bridge is similar in design to the I-35 highway bridge that collapsed in Minnesota in 2007.

Last December, ODOT announced a $140 million major rehabilitation of the bridge deck and drainage system. Is there a chance it will be closed entirely?

"Although that is not being considered at this point," Clemings said, "if tests indicate that is the prudent course I'm certain the director would not hesitate to close it." There is also the question of how safe the bridge really is.  

"I believe it's safe and that ODOT is undertaking its current testing from a very conservative viewpoint," said Case Western Reserve University structural engineering Professor Art Huckelbridge, who has studied the bridge's condition since the 90's.

"It's one of the most heavily-traveled bridges in Ohio, " he said, "and because of that it is checked and monitored perhaps more than any other bridge in the state."

Suggested alternate routes from the east:
I-77 southbound to I-490 westbound
State Route 2 (Cleveland Memorial Shoreway) westbound
I-271 southbound to I-480 west to State Route 176 (Jennings Freeway) north

Suggested alternate routes from the west:
I-490 eastbound to I-77 northbound
State Route 2 (Cleveland Memorial Shoreway) eastbound
State Route 176 (Jennings Freeway) south to I-480 eastbound to I-271 north
W. 25th Street to the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge
W. 25th Street to the Detroit-Superior Bridge

Readers:  How is your commute affected by the bridge lane closures?  What do you think about the inspections? Not affected? Have a great alternate route? Leave your comments in the section below.