the bridge. back end and drives directly off. repairs as well as a discussion of the safety of the bridge, which was 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. at the intersecting roads. Read: The Z-Bridge: The turbulent history behind Michigans Zilwaukee Bridge. In 1979, with its Joint Venture partner Stevin Construction, Toebe won the contract to construct the Zilwaukee Bridge near Saginaw, Michigan. Now, an average of 21.6 million vehicles cross the bridge per year. The work was completed in 2015 and was expected extend the life of the bridge until 2087. While the bridge has performed very well in the years since it has opened Only one side of the bridge is open at a time, and traffic is shifted on Tuesday and Saturday, based on peak times. 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.. which are hollow and usually rectangular in shape. This was On precast segmental bridges, the concrete segments must be delivered Construction of the bridge would resume. Several ideas were proposed, including tunneling under the river, but eventually they decided on a box-and-girder, concrete segmental bridge that would simply be elevated high enough for ships to pass underneath. You are being asked to avoid the area. Yes, the Zilwaukee Bridge of 1960 was a drawbridge. Four years later, MDOT announced a $70 million project to replace 154 of the bridges bearings, as well as to rebuild four miles of the freeway. Kahn also expressed concern about future lane closures on the bridge. In order to provide you with the best online experience this website uses cookies. 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. A contingent of lawmakers planned to tour the bridge today after a Saginaw News investigation sparked inquiries about the agencys investigation into the mishap. [5] During 2014, special custom-made jacks were put into place as a stop-gap measure while bearings were replaced.[6]. Lin International (TYLI) to perform construction engineering services. Instead, a chemical compound called calcium magnesium acetate is used as an alternative. the bridge was completed and the back-ups on the freeway reached three following pages reproduce a 1987 report issued by the Michigan With the implementation of Interstate Highway System, developed by the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, the two-lane highway was incorporated into the new highway which ran from Detroit to the Mackinac Bridge. Now, the bridge is very busy. To make sure the its integrity would not be compromised, crews installed steel reinforcement on the bridge's exterior. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. New bearings of "high-density plastic material" will give the bridge a much longer life: The bridge project, along with other nearby bridge and highway projects, are expected to cost $70 million. time it opened for river traffic. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Nearly having to start over, construction took another 3 years, but in winter of 1987, the northbound lanes of the Zilwaukee Bridge finally opened to the public. Read about the Zilwaukee Bridge collapse in 1982 and its reconstruction. and another is attached to the opposite side. added to one end of the completed group, and then a balancing segment is For five years, it has routinely stored blueprints electronically, he The Zilwauke Bridge is so high because it must allow boats to past. back to a major construction accident while bridge was not yet half completed They rejected a proposed steel bridge in favor of a slightly cheaper concrete model estimated at $77M. to turn the 70-foot trailer around on the 73-foot wide bridges, the trailer The bridge wasnt even open for traffic yet at this point. While that may not sound like a lot, it's a big deal when talking about tons and tons of concrete and steel. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Much more on the filled with cement grout under high pressure. River at the border of Washington and Oregon, opened in 1982, and the new Traffic is being rerouted along as follows: Wednesdays - Saturdays It was only 150 feet wide and several ships ended up clipping the bridge, causing damage and even more traffic issues. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. 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. Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner Professional. 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. (MDOT) BAY CITY, Mich - Bay County 911 reports there are two different multi-vehicle accidents on both northbound and southbound I-75 on top of the Zilwaukee Bridge. During a bearing replacement project, a contractor inadvertently cut through reinforced steel on the bridge, the agency has reported. to the bridge and held in place while the epoxy is applied and the cables The Zilwaukee Bridge has some impressive specifications. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. habitat. The original Zilwaukee Bridge as a four-lane draw bridge. The town's founders called it Zilwaukee to confuse it with the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in hopes of luring settlers there to work. The original completion date for the Zilwaukee Bridge was November 1983. highway running from Detroit to the Mackinac Bridge. fabrication of the segments. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. For example, consider drawbridges. Our concern is if they shut it down for one year in each way, it could have a major impact, Jolin said. The segment of freeway utilizing the Zilwaukee Bridge is part of I-75 and US23. are 73.5 feet wide and either eight feet or 12 feet long. [3] The Zilwaukee Bridge is approximately 8,000 feet (2,400m) in length and rises 125 feet (38m) at its highest point.[1][2]. The bearingsdesigned to support up to 8 million pounds eachrequire replacement because of normal wear and tear since the bridge's opening in 1987. girder. As an aid in joining each precast piece to its mate, high-strength epoxy A Saginaw News article from 1967 details another freighters crash into the bridge, causing traffic to be re-routed for a few days. Chynoweth noted the new bearings would double the Zilwaukee Bridge's lifespan to a now-predicted 100 years, or through 2087. The first two of those still serve this route across the current Zilwaukee Bridge today, but U.S. 10 was scaled back to end west of Bay City at around the same time that this bridge was replaced with that one. Back to: Section 2: Background 2/24/2018 Aleana W. It's a iconic MI bridge. completed. Instead, a chemical compound called calcium magnesium acetate is used as an alternative. It makes for an imposing sight, and the Zilwaukee Riverfront Park sits nearby. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The 4-lane highway crossed the Saginaw River as a draw bridge. When the bridge opened for river traffic, it sometimes caused miles-long traffic jams, especially during heavy travel days around the holidays and the start of firearms deer hunting season. This is the first time it has ever been an issue.. The deck itself was able to be aligned back into place and the pier underneath was then heavily reinforced. http://media.mlive.com/saginawnews_impact/photo/zilwaukee-bridge-bbec235072ccfec4.jpg. This important artery allows traffic to move through the area without entering downtown Saginaw. Construction crews began work on a major renovation project on the Zilwaukee Bridge this week. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The Saginaw News article also details an instance where Michigan State Police raised the bridge to stop a fleeing criminal on I-75. new eastern bypass of Saginaw for through US-23 traffic, While the Zilwaukee Bridge is a bit shorter than the Mackinac Bridge, it is much wider. had also been converted to full freeway with overpasses and interchanges Construction on the new Zilwaukee Bridge began in 1979. Traffic heading north each weekend, and south when the weekend is over, will still be able to traverse three lanes on the bridge. BAY CITY, Mich - Bay County 911 reports there are two different multi-vehicle accidents on both northbound and southbound I-75 on top of the Zilwaukee Bridge. Aerial map of Zilwaukee Bridges by Chris Bessert/Michigan Highways. The bridge was built segment by segment, working from one end of the river toward the other side. After eight years of construction, the northbound lanes of the Zilwaukee Bridge were opened Dec. 23, 1987. Traffic shifted between I-75/US-23 and I-675 twice weekly to ensure three lanes were open in the direction of peak travel. Traffic began using the Zilwaukee Bridge again on October 1, 2008. At its peak, the bridge is 125 feet above water level. of the unfinished ramps crossed a buried landfill contaminated with PCBs. added. According to a story The ships captain suffered minor injuries. In 1975, transit officials decided to build a high-level bridge over the river. It was actually a four-lane draw bridge and a freeway beginning at the northern end of the 1953 bypass (at present-day M-13), crossing the bridge and continuing north into Bay City. 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