Drivers who use State Route 14 through Streetsboroare facing at least six months of detours following the discovery this week that a bridge could collapse.
Contractors working near the 31-year-old bridge across Lake Rockwellnoticed that the pillars holding it up had corroded and were buckling. The Ohio Department of Transportation closed the bridge Monday, and says 160-foot-long structure must be completely re-built.
The work will begin immediately. Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broska is grateful a catastrophic collapse was avoided.
“Thankfully it was found and we took the steps necessary to ensure that no one was hurt, that it didn’t collapse. I thank God every day, you know, for the last couple days that nothing did happen and that somebody saw something and they said something.”
ODOT says the bridge passed a yearly inspection in April, and photos taken in July show no damage. Inspectors are trying to determine what happened to the pillars since then.
