Two trucks collided on the Interstate 75 bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinnati.
The bridge will be closed for at least a week
while inspectors assess the damage done to the bridge by the fire.
Inspectors are looking to see if the fire damaged the steel
badly enough to require condemning the bridge.
This bridge carries two percent of the nation's economy.
The collision occurred around 3 am on Wednesday, November 10
on the northbound route (the lower deck.)
The fire was fed by the trucks' fuel tanks
and the cargo of one of the trucks.
Hazardous cargoes are banned from being taken straight through the city.
They are required to be taken around the bypass, which is 19 miles longer.
The bridge opened in 1963, and is scheduled to be replaced due to overcrowding.
It was designed to carry 80,000 vehicles a day.
It's been carrying 160,000 per day.
It is named after Congressman Brent Spence (1874-1967) of Newport, Kentucky,
who was a member of Congress (D) from 1931 to 1963.
He was Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee,
and was a delegate to the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944.
Alternate routes can be as follows:
During low-traffic times of day, taking I-275 to I-471 is suitable.
That route has one large, steep grade.
During busy times of day, taking I-275 all the way around the city
might take less time than taking I-471.
Taking the eastern or the western bypass is 19 miles longer
than going straight through on I-75.
The eastern bypass has three large, steep grades,
the western route has gentle grades.
Continuing north on I-71 instead of I-75
subtracts 5 1/2 miles from the eastern route,
and adds 5 1/2 miles to the western route.
