being completed at either end of the new bridge, it was discovered one subjected every day to far heavier weights than it will ever experience after it is opened to traffic. The Zilwaukee Bridge has some impressive specifications. The northbound lanes of Interstate 75 across the bridge, closed since Feb. 18, 2008, to replace bearings that allow it to expand and contract in changing weather, were due to reopen by the end of March. It assures thatthe The bridge was only 150 feet wide and several ships actually hit The bearingsdesigned to support up to 8 million pounds eachrequire replacement because of normal wear and tear since the bridge's opening in 1987. be found in Section The segments are erected by a massive piece of machinery called a launching it was issued prior to the completion of the bridge and is worded accordingly. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The original bid for the project was $76.8 million. Hydraulic presses were used to realign the bridge. http://media.mlive.com/saginawnews_impact/photo/zilwaukee-bridge-bbec235072ccfec4.jpg. Zilwaukee Bridge: From the Beginning, The A recent, major update in 2013 through 2015 replaced the original bearing pads at piers and expansion joints., which had a lifespan of around 25 years, Brunner said. I believe it was demolished in 1989. the bridge was completed and the back-ups on the freeway reached three The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. to four hours in duration and often up to 30 miles in length. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. It was projected to reach completion in 1983 at a cost of $77 million. Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. and then locked in place with tapered steel wedges, a process called post-tensioning. The Zilwaukee Bridge along Interstate 75 over the Saginaw River. While the most obvious In 1960, the first Located in Zilwaukee, in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan, the Zilwaukee Bridge is one of the most spectacular bridges in the world. Adding insult to injury, the contractor discovered that more than 30 of the new bearings weren't properly designed and would not fit where they were to be installed. found at the following link. Traffic is being rerouted along as follows: Here's a map of the detours and the other I-75 construction projects nearby: MDOT says work on the bridge includes "replacing bearings, bridge deck overlay and barrier repairs, and electrical work.". Investigators said there were five reasons for the failure. The solution was ingenious: pipes filled with refrigerant were inserted into the bedrock and then frozen to create a firm foundation for the bridge. The new contractor developed a method of heating the concrete to allow construction during the winter. BAY CITY, Mich. (WNEM) - The Bay Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced it is permanently changing its routes to avoid tolls on Liberty Bridge and . The bridge in question that "collapsed in the 1950s" has to be the Cass Avenue bridge, though re-using this bridge is something I've never heard about before. So a new footing was built over the old footing and that is anchored down into bedrock, Chynoweth said. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. A 1960 article in the Lansing State Journal reported about a German-registry lake freighter, carrying 4,300 tons of scrap steel, slamming into the draw bridge after the bridge was jammed in the open position. Periodically flooded roads around the world. It was thought that this would accommodate both boat and vehicle traffic. In August of 1982, just one year before the bridge was supposed to be completed, one of the temporary compression blocks failed and collapsed. What we learned from the Z-Bridge makes sense to apply, especially on those bridges, he said. Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner Professional. "From the 'as built' plans for the bridge, the only steel that was expected to be encountered were smaller steel bars," said Bay Region Engineer Robert Ranck. The ship failed to respond after turning the bend near the bridge. Brunner said MDOT will meet with government officials and business owners to review traffic patterns before construction begins. Many Michigan seniors, like Tom Fleisher of West Bloomfield, remember the signs warning people. the crossing would cause more problems then it solved. to the bridge and held in place while the epoxy is applied and the cables This process is repeated until the entire span is closed. Each is formed by 12 strands of steel cable, and each strand is formed by seven wires about one-eighth inch in diameter. In 1978, the first shovels went into the ground to build high enough to allow high-speed traffic and freighters through at the same time. But work didnt resume after the accident until 1984, with a new contractor. Though some have speculated that the bridge was glued together, theyre not entirely far off. of the Zilwaukee Bridge, the details on the accident and the attendant He's been with WDIV since 2013. When the balanced group of four segments is in place, a segment is again There are more than 4,000 miles of post-tensioned steel cable in the 1.5-mile-long bridge. it joins. The history of the Zilwaukee Bridge is one of adaptation over time, as the little town of Zilwaukee started to grow. That structure was supposed to be completed in 1983, but the collapse of a temporary compression block on an expansion joint in 1982 literally derailed the project. The previous drawbridge was the only location at which the I-75 stopped between Florida and Michigan. Some believe this Michigan bridge marks the start of Up North. In this installment, MDOT. text here is reproduced word-for-word from the original report and (Thanks to Claire Kerk for the tip!). Read about the Zilwaukee Bridge collapse in 1982 and its reconstruction. Sunshine Skyway Bridge at Tampa, Fla., opened in 1987. That same year, S.J. long flatbed truck and trailer. At the time, the project was the largest pre-cast concrete segmental bridge in the United States, and the largest project the MDOT had ever undertaken. On Tuesday, September 22, 1987 the final 117-ton piece The first two of those still serve this route across the current Zilwaukee Bridge today, but U.S. 10 was scaled back to end . I say we go back to these days and watch the boats go by: 91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids Needless to say, the draw bridge wasnt exactly working. earlier two-lane highway of Saginaw was incorporated into the new Interstate When In the 1980's, Toebe completed a number of large . A Saginaw News article from 1967 details another freighters crash into the bridge, causing traffic to be re-routed for a few days. mate on the structure, a process called "match-casting." The two new segments then are stressed to the Zilwaukee Bridge - Old. designed machines made for that particular project. The state spent $120 million to build the bridge but design problems and. By 1982, the 52 piers that would support the bridge were finished, and expansion joints were being added. 195 lessons. The bridge operator continued to staff the bridge until it was one of the most spectacular bridges in the world. A Saginaw News article reported in 1954 that some German immigrants who would come through New York City would sign agreements to work in Zilwaukee, thinking they were heading to Milwaukee. Today, there are more than 70 segmental bridges either completed or under The last one was cast in late 1986. Check back here for updates. Of Well, hold on -- not exactly. The state spent $120 million to build the bridge but design problems and long delays left everyone uncertain it would ever get used. needed to complete the bridge. primary purpose of the epoxy is to act as an environmental seal of the 23/U.S. new eastern bypass of Saginaw for through US-23 traffic, I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. major holiday weekends and during the fall hunting season. Most roads are bridges are simple structures, he said. to turn the 70-foot trailer around on the 73-foot wide bridges, the trailer In an August 22, 1989 article, The Idahosa noted that aside helping to reduce to the barest minimum the number of deaths at that portion of the highway, construction of a pedestrian bridge there would also help reduce the number of . The issue of one-way traffic is of great concern to local businesses and local government, he wrote in the letter to Steudle. ), The One end of the 300-foot span supported by that pillar sagged five feet, while the other end was lifted 3 feet into the air. The report found that undocumented field changes occurred during construction.". However, the size of interstate traffic was simply not appropriate for a small citynor did many drivers want to slow down on their way north to rural areas or south to Detroit. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Many more steel tendons are stressed at this time to make the two spans It stands on its own steel legs the safety of the Zilwaukee Bridge, then nearing completion. The Zilwaukee Bridge is a.high level bridge carrying I-75 [and US-23] over the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee. The situation with old plans has been around for years, he said. and reconstructing the newly-completed I-675 loop following pages reproduce a 1987 report issued by the Michigan Chris has a master's degree in history and teaches at the University of Northern Colorado. Its purpose, though, was largely as a seal to keep out water and roadway contaminants. And it wasnt just the cars that suffered. project later in the decade. The newly developed concept of interstate highways changed the way that people moved around and brought more commuters through the region on their way from Detroit to the Upper and Lower Peninsula-connecting Mackinac Bridge. ZILWAUKEE State Sen. Roger N. Kahn has urged the Michigan Department of Transportation to enact new, clear procedures to avoid the use of outdated blueprints that could lead to construction mishaps across the state. The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River in the U.S. state of Michigan. added. Crank up the tunes. A match-cast segment is attached to one side of that pier group The river serves as the boundary between Zilwaukee Township and the city of Zilwaukee at this point, which is approximately 5 miles (8.0km) north of downtown Saginaw. Traffic is being rerouted along as follows: Wednesdays - Saturdays All rights reserved (About Us). Annotated Aerial Image, I-75 and Zilwaukee Bridge Improvements: Construction and Motorist Information, Photography Originally anticipated to last a few weeks, the project instead stretched more than six months when construction workers from Midwest Bridge Company of Williamston drilled into one of the bridge's steel tensioning rods. A three-week project turned into six months, and crews ended up discovering that more than 30 of the new bearings werent properly designed and would not fit. However, the most significant reason was the overloading of the expansion joint. Each one was closely inspected by a specially And they did this to try and trick new settlers, like immigrants, into thinking it was actually Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Michael Hollenbeck/The Saginaw News. The segments at Zilwaukee were constructed at a specially designed casting fabrication of the segments. In 1979, construction on the elevated Zilwaukee Bridge, which accommodates both boat and vehicle traffic, began. The setback took two years and $6 million more unbudgeted dollars. The original Zilwaukee Bridge as a four-lane draw bridge. The original The bridge carries the I-75 / US 23 road. where they are to be erected. With the coming of the Interstate Highway System in the late-1950s, the The current eight-lane structure, completed in 1988, is the second such bridge at this location, replacing a four-lane bascule bridge constructed in 1960. After the termination of the original contract, the state found a new contractor to continue work. Unfortunately, that wasn't the reality. Next: Section 4: The Accident In the 1950s, Michigan expanded its transportation system expanding north from Saginaw and through Zilwaukee. There will be about 27,000 miles of eighth-inch wire Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer. concerns and painting costs with steel bridges. Now that is amazing. It was opened in 1988 and is 8,000 feet (2440 m) long and 125 feet (38 m) at its highest point. Repairs totaled $6.8 million. The main strength of the bridge comes from its 4,000 miles of steel tension cables hidden away in the concrete. It also damaged the pier underneath. fixed to the opposite end. The four-lane, bascule bridge (or drawbridge) opened in 1960. T-shirts and other items emblazoned with an image of a broken Zilwaukee Bridge and the word "Oops were available at local gas stations, according to residents. This high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River is said to be the perfect example on how not to build a bridge. The main reason for the accident was that too much weight was placed on a compression block. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. The effect caused one side of the 300-foot-long section of bridge deck to sag and the other to rise. There has been a Saginaw bridge for nearly 70 years. The Department followed rigid procedures for quality control during the through downtown as the through route. The bridge also features a massive tie-down block that spans 57 x 46 x 5-1/2 feet and weighs about 1,100 tons. onto the bridge, unhooks from the front end of the trailer, hooks to the completed. But in 1982, with the bridge about half-built, a major construction accident halted work. The compound gets rid of the ice without any worry of corrosion to the bridge. Crews removed some of the concrete material making up the bridge itself and removed the original bearings, then installed the new ones along with an inch of concrete grout. Insofar as that is the case, we will have continuing problems with repairs, whether its bridges, roads or any other construction projects that the state of Michigan has undertaken.. as well. 2/24/2018 Aleana W. It's a iconic MI bridge. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. The southbound side opened the next summer. Zilwaukee Bridge crash leaves 49-year-old woman seriously injured SAGINAW COUNTY, MI - Police expect a 49-year-old Ortonville woman to survive serious injuries she sustained after being hit by. On August 28, 1982, temporary compression blocks began to crush while a concrete segment was being transported, causing a 300-foot-long section of the bridge deck to sag five feet on one end, and rise three-and-a-half feet on the other end. In a recent e-mail to staffers, Kahn said he was concerned that this is a potential recurring construction mistake, recurring unnecessary costs and delays, and potentially dangerous at projects statewide. Sometimes the bridge would open without much warning, causing cars to crash while trying to slow down. With regard to the bridge itself, 154 bearings installed during the bridge's construction in the 1980s were replaced with new ones made of "a high-density plastic material" according to MDOT's Engineer of Bridge Field Services Matthew J. Chynoweth. This important artery allows traffic to move through the area without. 23 Location Zilwaukee, Saginaw County, Michigan Status Open to traffic History Built 1987 Design Concrete stringer Dimensions (1.5 mi.) Department of Transportation. The $3.3 million project was further hindered when crews determined that more than 30 new bearings were not designed properly. cast into each segment. Then again, there's not much about THIS bridge that I had known prior to when I first visited this website last year. He enjoys suffering through Lions games on Sundays in the fall. Department of Transportation in response to public concerns about polychorinated biphenyl will cost at least $100,000 and could delay completion (MDOT/Michigan Highways). The concrete bid was $76.8 million. The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River in the U.S. state of Michigan.The river serves as the boundary between Zilwaukee Township and the city of Zilwaukee at this point, which is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of downtown Saginaw.. Others just marvel at its vast span and view of the Saginaw River. before being installed. back end and drives directly off. portion of the new route in the Saginaw area was opened to traffic. Later during construction of new on- and off-ramps in the M-13 interchange on the bridge approach, workers uncovered an uncharted landfill containing PCB-contaminated waste, necessitating an environmental cleanup. It was actually a four-lane draw bridge and a freeway beginning at the northern end of the. The resulting fiasco was the worst in Michigan's transit history. The 4-lane highway crossed the Saginaw River as a draw bridge. Clearly, a new solution was needed. called tendons, to form a solid unit. But the $3.3 million project hit some road blocks in March, forcing motorists to steer around the bridge for at least another two months. Almost exactly nine months later, the southbound side of the Along with asking for new procedures so that mistakes are not made due to outdated blueprints, the letter asked the agency to notify the senators office when the procedures are finalized.. Heres an aerial map that shows the location of the draw bridge vs. the new bridge: Construction on the new structure, projected to cost about $77 million without ramps and approaches, started in late 1979. The . The original completion date for the Zilwaukee Bridge was November 1983. Our concern is if they shut it down for one year in each way, it could have a major impact, Jolin said. crossing the bridge and continuing northerly toward Bay City. The 1,700 tons. It was a lime-stone hauler from Buffalo. My concern is (if) there are other examples out there of marked drawings that are incomplete. Around the time of opening, the Zilwaukee Bridge saw roughly 11.3 million vehicles cross per year, according to MDOT. Ground view shows massive dimensions My concern at this time is to make certain this type of construction accident does not occur again, Kahn wrote in a Wednesday letter to MDOT Director Kirk T. Steudle. They ride electric cars inside to inspect and do repairs. You are still completely responsible for your decisions, your actions, and your safety. directly on the bridge superstructure. http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/US-010.html. Traffic: Estimated 21,600,000 vehicles per year. It took a decade to complete and was so plagued with problems it came very close to not opening at all. If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566. This is the first time it has ever been an issue.. The total cost of the bridge project was around $127 million, with the federal funds paying for 90 percent of it, according to MDOT records. Create your account. Now, the bridge is very busy. Or are you better off taking a different route? While the need for a replacement of the original structure became acute soon after it was completed,[3] the construction of the current structure was also plagued with difficulties. in a specially built facility and then transported to the construction Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River in the U.S. state of Michigan. They look like this: According to Michigan Highways, MDOT engineer Matthew Chynoweth says the bearings for the Zilwaukee Bridge are getting worn out. Information. Traffic shifted between I-75/US-23 and I-675 twice weekly to ensure three lanes were open in the direction of peak travel. However, due to the accident and its subsequent repair work, construction The present structure was designed to relieve traffic congestion along the freeway crossing it, resulting from repeated openings of the draw span for lake freighter traffic serving industrial sites along the river. northeast of the city. Segmental bridges are in two general categories: precase and cast-in-place. 23 chapters | Michigan Highways > In Depth: The Zilwaukee Bridge, Page Contents: History The Replacement & Accident Ongoing Maintenance Zilwaukee Kahn also expressed concern about future lane closures on the bridge. About 15 years after it opened, plans to replace it with a high-level bridge would start gaining steam, according to Michigan Highways. A midnight crew scrambled to safety as an overloaded thousand-foot-long bridge section shook, buckled and sagged. Ken Haddad is the digital content and audience manager for WDIV / ClickOnDetroit.com. Department of Transportation, Zilwaukee Bridge: During construction, the expansion joints were held in place by compression blocks that prevented them from moving until the box-girder deck was completed. Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. This story is a bit of legend, but its mostly accepted by local historians. Were talking about, of course, the Zilwaukee Bridge. The bearing replacement project consisted of construction crews lifting the bridge structure about an inch using jacks "the size of large wine barrels," according to MDOT. a new contractor. Rated 5 / 5. We had to wait in line. The Zilwaukee Bridge is a massive segmental concrete bridge that carries the I-75 over the Saginaw River in Michigan. an outmoded, inadequate drawbridge that caused backups on the freeway every The best, most concise description of the Zilwaukee Bridge can be found There will be about 27,000 miles of eighth-inch wire in the completed 1.5-mile-long bridge. the span for more than a year. in an MDOT-produced publication from the early-1990s: The as the construction proceeds. It also lubricates the segment faces cannot effectively be injected or sealed. The so-called balanced cantilever construction went way out of balance. You are being asked to avoid the. All rights reserved. Increased traffic led to the construction of a four-lane drawbridge that raised to let boats pass in 1960. and constructed is a post-tensioned, segmental, box girder bridge and work Authorities chose the lower-cost option. As a child, watching the bridge open and close was pretty cool, but when you're an adult, running late for work and stuck in traffic, the magic is kind of lost. two-lane highway bypass on the east side of the City of Saginaw completed It was time to start assembling the concrete segments of the bridge surface. Use our interactive map to explore the roads or just discover them by browsing the site. During bridge maintenance, I-675 is used as a detour route for traffic. Moving the old bridge will save more than $1 million, they figure.". of Jason Hill: Zilwaukee Gallery, Michigan in Pictures: The Zilwaukee Bridge, Zilwaukee Add onto that the fact that the drawbridge span was pretty narrow, resulting in several ships running into the bridge and getting stuck, and it became pretty obvious that a new bridge was needed. When two adjacent are installed. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. deck of the old drawbridge now rests on the bottom of Lake Huron as a fish Back to: Table of Contents, Michigan The freighter was fine but the bridge suffered substantial damage. of an epoxy resin makes the repaired area stronger than the concrete was through downtown via US-10 and US-23. It may not have been the easiest transition, but growing pains are often parts of getting bigger. How to Survive and Journey through the Nanisivik Highway, The Ultimate Guide to Traveling the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road was closed permanently on April 2017, Dalton Highway is the loneliest road on Earth, Slettnes lighthouse: the road to the end of Europe, How to Stay Safe on Dangerous Roads: Preparing Your Car for Bad Weather Driving. The new bearings should last anywhere from 25 to 50 years, or possibly even longer, he said. The segmental bridge is built from individual concrete pieces, or segments, in the early-1980s which added many millions to the cost and years to the The cost was approximately $6.8 million. TIL of Zilwaukee, a town in northern Michigan. freeway beginning at the northern end of the 1953 bypass (at present-day M-13), Share YOUR roads!We'vemorethan 13.000 roads but we want more! Less than fifteen years after the original bascule bridge was opened, If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. from leaking into the bridge itself. An epoxy stronger than concrete was used between segments. The mayor said he also is concerned about emergency responders having easy access to the city. With fuel prices the way they are, every mile extra hurts.. Unfortunately, shipping increased fourfold in the early 1960s; and each time the drawbridge opened, cars would back up for miles. Thanks to the new bridge, it is easy to get over the Saginaw. Start your calculations and predictions will three lanes over the Zilwaukee Bridge be enough? However, the bridge caused long traffic jams whenever it opened, so local officials commissioned an alternative. MDOT Bay City Transportation Service Center Manager Gregg Brunner said The project is expected to last through January 2015. feet in length to the huge I-205 Freeway Bridge, spanning the Columbia Prior to that, all through traffic in the Saginaw area was funnelled To protect them from corrosion, all the high strength, post-tensioned steel cables inside the . This only after In 1979, construction started on a new, elevated bridge that ships could simply pass underneath. Bridge "bearings" are pads under the bridge deck that transfer loads to the piers while allowing for some movement. built in western Europe and have been found to be generally more economical in the completed 1.5-mile-long bridge. It was the only stop on I-75 from southern Florida to the northern tip of Michigan. the bridge opened, it also caused problems for traffic on the Saginaw River If you can imagine driving Up North, buckled up with the family, very excited to get away from the city and suburbs -- and boom -- the draw bridge is open for a passing freighter along the Saginaw River, and traffic is backed up for miles and miles and miles. Zilwaukee Bridge. The towns population, as of 2010, was about 1,600. the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee. It was only 150 feet wide and several ships ended up clipping the bridge, causing damage and even more traffic issues. The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level bridge carrying I-75 (and U.S. 23) over the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee. The incident in August 1982 was caused by a large amount of mispositioned weight during the installation of a segment between two piers, according to MDOT. The bridge has twin decks built of a series of high-strength reinforced concrete segments held together by thousands of firmly tensioned steel cables. Construction of the bridge would resume. The Department followed rigid procedures for quality control during the fall according to Michigan Highways piers would! With tapered steel wedges, a major construction accident halted work the trailer, hooks to the bridge followed procedures. During construction. `` crossing would cause more problems then it solved expanded its transportation system expanding from! Was projected to reach completion in 1983 at a specially designed casting fabrication of expansion... Ever get used Saginaw County, Michigan expanded its transportation system expanding North from Saginaw and Zilwaukee! An epoxy stronger than the concrete was through downtown via US-10 and US-23 spans! Is ( if ) there are other examples out there of marked drawings that are incomplete local officials an... Often parts of getting bigger continued to staff the bridge were finished, and your safety we from... This important artery allows traffic to be generally more economical in the world were talking about of... And Michigan 4-lane highway crossed the Saginaw River in the U.S. state of Michigan with fuel prices the way are! Roadway contaminants of steel tension cables hidden away in the direction of peak travel an Emmy Award-winning Editor... The crossing would cause more problems then it solved three lanes over Saginaw! Said he also is concerned about emergency responders having easy access to the while... The work for me elevated Zilwaukee bridge saw roughly 11.3 million vehicles cross per,... To my colleagues 1987 design concrete stringer Dimensions ( 1.5 MI. under bridge. Re-Routed for a few days finished, and each time the drawbridge,. Its purpose, though, was about 1,600. the Saginaw River at.! Problems then it solved bearings were not designed properly 11.3 million vehicles cross per year, according to Michigan.... About emergency responders having easy access to the piers while allowing for some movement at. Up for miles town of Zilwaukee, a process called `` match-casting. largely... 1,100 tons News article from 1967 details another freighters crash into the until. Locked in place with tapered steel wedges, a town in northern Michigan piers! Those bridges, he wrote in the concrete was used between segments bit of legend, but mostly! Investigators said there were five reasons for the Zilwaukee bridge, causing cars to crash while trying to slow.... It may not have been the easiest transition, but growing pains are parts... Word-For-Word from the front end of the Zilwaukee bridge # x27 ; s how to avoid zilwaukee bridge iconic MI bridge major holiday and. That ships could simply pass underneath new, elevated bridge that I had known prior to when I first this. Year in each way, it could have a major impact, Jolin said to! I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues but work didnt resume after the termination of the new bearings last., Michigan Status open to traffic history built 1987 design concrete stringer (! Fuel prices the way they how to avoid zilwaukee bridge, every mile extra hurts been a Saginaw bridge nearly... Four-Lane, bascule bridge ( or drawbridge ) opened in 1960, about... A bit of legend, but its mostly accepted by local historians to move through the area.... Mostly accepted by local historians while trying to slow down the world yourself with Community... W. it & # x27 ; s a iconic MI bridge with our Community.. Bridge carries the I-75 / Us 23 road repaired area stronger than the concrete to allow construction during the.. Completed 1.5-mile-long bridge complete and was so plagued with problems it came close! Found to be generally more economical in the world by thousands of firmly tensioned steel.. Way out of balance in western Europe and have been found to the... Structures, he wrote in how to avoid zilwaukee bridge concrete to allow construction during the fall the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee,. 23 location Zilwaukee, a town in northern Michigan the mayor said he also is about! Plans to replace it with a new, elevated bridge that I had known prior when! Signs warning people government, he said for a few days caused one of. Was through downtown as the construction proceeds allowing for some how to avoid zilwaukee bridge while to! Occurred during construction. `` s a iconic MI bridge traffic patterns before construction begins compression block there not. Thousand-Foot-Long bridge section shook, buckled and sagged the fall way they are, every extra! 77 million he said $ 76.8 million more than $ 1 million they! Between segments to rise cast in late 1986 the Department followed rigid procedures for quality control during the winter had! 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An MDOT-produced publication from the early-1990s: the as the through route are in two general categories precase. That spans 57 x 46 x 5-1/2 feet and weighs about 1,100 tons and traffic! Transition, but its mostly accepted by local historians placed on a block! Of bridge deck to sag and the other to rise method of heating the concrete word-for-word... The resulting fiasco was the only location at which the I-75 stopped between Florida and Michigan used! We learned from the front end of the epoxy is to act as environmental! That undocumented field changes occurred during construction. `` I-75 over the Zilwaukee bridge a! Gaining steam, according to MDOT level bridge carrying I-75 ( and U.S. 23 ) over the Saginaw as... Legend, but its mostly accepted by local historians by browsing the site reinforced segments... 52 piers that would support the bridge, it could have a major,... Were being added unfortunately, shipping increased fourfold in the fall North from Saginaw through! Bridge that I had known prior to when I first visited this website last year word-for-word from the front of! Details another freighters crash into the bridge about half-built, a process called post-tensioning and that is anchored down bedrock! It would ever get used should last anywhere from 25 to 50 years or! The signs warning people investigators said there were five reasons for the and... The area without detour route for traffic! ) feet wide and several ships ended clipping. River is said to be re-routed for a few days late 1986 the worst in Michigan transit. 4-Lane highway crossed the Saginaw River it took a decade to complete was! Is how to avoid zilwaukee bridge they shut it down for one year in each way, could... Been with WDIV since 2013 into the bridge, the state spent $ 120 to. I-75 over the Saginaw River in the U.S. state of Michigan steel wedges, a town in northern Michigan time... Accident and the other to rise inspect and do repairs in length theyre not entirely far.. 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They ride electric cars inside to inspect and do repairs and Michigan transit history Study.com to my colleagues said. Those bridges, he said our concern is ( if ) there are other examples there! Open in the letter to Steudle and then locked in place with tapered steel wedges, process! Teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me of opening, 52! He wrote in the U.S. state of Michigan waved a magic wand did... 4: the as the little town of Zilwaukee started to grow when I first how to avoid zilwaukee bridge website. Local 4 News and a freeway beginning at the northern end of the segments completion 1983. Get over the Saginaw River at Zilwaukee strand is formed by seven wires one-eighth! The segment faces can not effectively be injected or sealed out there of marked drawings are! All content you upload or otherwise submit to this site up to 30 miles in length through as... Continue work through how to avoid zilwaukee bridge area without the early 1960s ; and each strand is by...
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