Ohio
Cincinnati’s Daniel Carter Beard Bridge fire recalls other fires, disasters on Ohio bridges
A massive fire engulfing the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge and Interstate 471 over the Ohio River might have Cincinnati residents recalling another major blaze that cut a major route between Ohio and Kentucky.
In 2020, the Brent Spence Bridge that carries interstates 71 and 75 across the Ohio River was closed for weeks following a crash that sparked a huge fire.
Here’s a look back at that disaster and other bridge fires and collapses around Ohio.
Fiery crash closes Brent Spence Bridge, I-71/75, over Ohio River for six weeks in 2020
Brent Spence Bridge on I-75 closed after fire, crash
A boat sprays water on a semi on fire on the Brent Spence Bridge early Wednesday. The fire followed a crash involving 2 semis. One truck was carrying potassium hydroxide. The bridge will be closed until it can be inspected.
Emily Rowekamp, Provided
On Nov. 11, 2020, a truck carrying potassium hydroxide crashed into a jackknifed truck on the Brent Spence Bridge, causing a major fire that ended up closing the Ohio River span for six weeks.
According to 911 calls, the Old Dominion semi driver who crashed into a jackknifed truck didn’t have time to grab Hazmat paperwork before fleeing the truck, the Enquirer reported previously.
“It started on fire, and I just jumped out,” he said, telling a dispatcher that he couldn’t grab the paperwork in time.
Neither he nor the driver of the jackknifed rig were injured.
Repairs to the bridge included new steel support beams and new sections of concrete on the upper and lower decks. The U.S. Department of Transportation made $12 million in federal funds available for emergency repairs.
The bridge, which carries more than 160,000 vehicles a day and is one of the busiest trucking routes in the United States, reopened on Dec. 22, 2020.
Tanker catches fire on state Route 8 in Macedonia Saturday
The crash closed the highway both ways.
Tanker crash kills driver, sparks fire on Route 8 ramp to I-271 in January 2024
On Jan. 27, the driver of a diesel tanker was killed after driving off a bridge at the Interstate 271 entrance ramp from state Route 8 north of Akron.
The truck, carrying 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel, exploded, causing a huge fire that closed the bridge for a few days, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. It reopened after inspections showed the damage didn’t affect the bridge’s structural integrity.
Miamitown Bridge collapses during flooding in Cincinnati on May 26, 1989
A temporary bridge over the Great Miami River collapsed during widespread flooding on May 16, 1989, according to media reports, sending four cars into the water. At least two people drowned, WCPO reported.
In November 1990, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a report blaming the Hamilton County Engineer’s Office for three factors that contributed to the bridge collapse, according to WCPO. Those included:
- Selection of a design by National Engineering, the company that built the bridge, that did not consider lateral loads
- Failure to submit the bridge design plans to the Ohio Department of Transportation for review as required by state law
- Failure to promptly close the bridge when it became subject to significant debris loading
Silver Bridge span from Gallipolis collapses into Ohio River on Dec. 15, 1967
The Silver Bridge spanned the Ohio River from Gallipolis to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Opening to traffic in 1928, it was the first bridge in the nation to use an innovative eyebar-link suspension system rather than a traditional wire-cable suspension, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
However, one of those eyebars had a small, unseen defect. The faulty eyebar eventually cracked and began to corrode, out of sight of the public or bridge inspectors. At about 5 p.m. on December 15—during rush hour—the eyebar failed, setting off a series of other failures that caused the bridge to collapse. Thirty-one vehicles plunged into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.
This story was updated to add a video.
CINCINNATI (WKRC) – A judge’s ruling is set to reshape the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio after finding that two board members violated their fiduciary duty to the fund.
The decision announced on Thursday stems from an investigation by the Ohio attorney general two years ago. The ruling centers on board members Rudy Fichtenbaum and Wade Steen, who were apparently trying to restore cost-of-living increases but, in doing so, pursued a plan the fund’s staff had already rejected.
A judge’s ruling is set to reshape the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio after finding that two board members violated their fiduciary duty to the fund. (WKRC, Provided)
The judge found the two were acting as agents of QED, a startup that proposed managing $65 billion—more than two-thirds of the pension fund. The effort did not persuade fellow board members, but once it came to light, state lawmakers moved to reduce the number of educators on the board.
“The fund has since then grown. The state found issue with two of the board members and took it to court. The court made its decision. Through all of this, the system continued to perform well, and the board continued to perform the functions of a board,” said Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper.
State Rep. Adam Bird, a former superintendent in New Richmond and one of the lawmakers involved in altering the board, said the ruling supports the need for the change.
“I am confident that the judicial system will ultimately rule in our favor. I appreciate that they’ve got a job to do and they’ve got to go through their due process—and I’m not going to argue with that—but I do think that ultimately, the state legislature’s bill that passed back in June will ultimately prevail,” Bird said.
Cropper said she disagrees with using the ruling as an example to justify changing the board’s makeup.
“I think that is wrong to use this as an example, because if anything, this proves when board members need to be removed, there’s a mechanism for removing them, whether they’re appointed or elected, and this composition of the board has been this way since its inception,” Cropper said.
The change to the board’s setup is frozen pending more litigation, as teachers unions back a lawsuit challenging it.
As for the two board members, Chairman Fichtenbaum will be removed, and Steen is barred from ever rejoining the board.
STRS says it manages more than $100 billion for more than 500,000 educators. Almost 7,000 Hamilton County retirees are receiving benefits.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Columbus properties dominate a new list out highlighting the best hotels in Ohio.
A Columbus hotel took the top spot in the rankings from US News & World Report, and a total of six area properties were included in the top 15, more than Cleveland (four) and Cincinnati (three).
Take a look at the list below:
- Le Meridien Columbus, The Joseph
- Inn Walden (Aurora, near Cleveland)
- The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland
- The Lytle Park Hotel, Autograph Collection (Cincinnati)
- The Hancock Hotel (Findlay)
- The Summit Hotel (Cincinnati)
- Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection (Columbus)
- The Junto (Columbus)
- Hotel Versailles (Versailles)
- Hilton Columbus Downtown
- Intercontinental Hotels Cleveland by IHG
- Hilton Columbus at Easton
- Hilton Columbus/Polaris
- Metropolitan at The 9 Autograph Collection (Cleveland)
- 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati
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ExperienceColumbus.com has a list of several new hotels being built or planned around the city.
The man accused of killing two
people on Valentine’s Day returned to Moore County on Wednesday after fleeing to Ohio to face charges.
Caleb Fosnaugh, 25, was arrested
after he was accused of shooting and killing 21-year-old Kateryna Tovmash and
28-year-old Matthew Wade at a home in Vass on Saturday. Deputies said he left the area before law enforcement arrived at the home on Saturday.
Deputies said Fosnaugh waived
extradition in the double homicide investigation. He now faces several charges, including felony breaking and entering and two counts of murder.
Fosnaugh is being held in the
Moore County Detention Center without bond. He is expected to appear in court
on Thursday, Feb. 19.
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