ODOT warns of flammable structures, including one burning under the Big Mac bridge

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Questions are growing about how the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, commonly known as the “Big Mac Bridge,” caught fire and whether the incident could have been prevented.

A Local 12 investigation uncovered a National Highway Administration warning about flammable structures under bridges.

Currently, the bridge’s two northbound lanes are open, while the southbound lanes will remain closed indefinitely. The closure disrupted the daily routines of many people, including Rich Harrison, a local park user.

“It will probably take an extra 20 to 30 minutes to drive through town instead of using the highway,” said Harrison, who has been a frequent visitor to Sawyer Point Park with his family for two decades. “I want to know how the fire started, which endangered so many people. So it would be nice to get to the root of everything.”

The Cincinnati Fire Department and Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) are prioritizing the investigation of the cause of the fire and any necessary repairs to reopen the southbound lanes of the bridge. A robot dog has mapped the area under the bridge where the “Thousand Hands” play structure once stood.

“The play structure here was heavily involved in fire by the time the first firefighters arrived, but the fire actually extended upward and deformed the beams,” said Deputy Chief Matt Flagler of the Cincinnati Fire Department. he said.

The fire department is focusing on the recycled plastic play structure and its rubber flooring as the source of the fire and its fuel source. ODOT approved the use of the structure under the bridge in 2003. Jim Garges, former director of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission who is now retired in Tennessee, recalled the approval process.

“Has there been any talk about the flammability of the playground?” Local 12 asked.

“Not that I remember. We got permission from the Department of Transportation, of course,” Garges said.

Despite warnings from the National Highway Administration in 2017 and 2023 about the fire danger of flammable materials under bridges, ODOT appears to have failed to follow those recommendations. Deputy Chief Flagler expressed concern about the situation.

“What do you think about having this highly flammable area right under the interstate?” Local 12 asked.

“Yeah, I wish I had a better answer than, ‘We really don’t know,'” Flagler said.

“Do you now have any thoughts of going to different overpasses and checking that similar situations do not happen again?” Local 12 asked.

“I know I trust the processes of the different people who are responsible for these bridges and what they tell us,” Flagler said.

Those people are ODOT, which did not respond to questions about the federal notices or assessing whether the notices apply to the structure under the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge or other Ohio bridges. Meanwhile, Sawyer Point Park and the waterfront bike path and pedestrian path along the Ohio River will remain closed.

The following restrictions also apply in downtown Cincinnati:

• Liberty Street access to I-471 is closed.
• 5th Street access to I-471 is closed.
• US 50 East and West access to I-471 is closed. (US 50 remains open to traffic.)
• Pete Rose Way/Riverside Drive is closed due to approach.
• Eastbound Pete Rose Way drivers can use Eggleston Avenue.
• Westbound Riverside Drive (US 52) should divert to Columbia Parkway (US 50).
• The parking lot below the bridge approach adjacent to Pete Rose Way is closed.
• Sawyer Point Park and all pedestrian and visitor facilities within the park are closed.