'Flawed' changes made before fatal collapse

Engineers had to make late changes to the demolition plan of the old Hopple Street Interstate 75 overpass after workers ran into problems tearing down the bridge the night before it collapsed – and those changes may have been flawed and caused the fatal accident.

That is according to an analysis of the demolition plan by an independent bridge expert after the Ohio Department of Transportation and Kokosing Construction released the documents to The Enquirer on Thursday.

The documents were released to the public a day after The Enquirer threatened to sue the state for withholding the demolition plan.

The documents show Kokosing engineers had to make changes to the demolition plan just hours before the bridge collapsed and killed 35-year-old construction worker Brandon Carl on the night of Jan. 19.

Kokosing officials discussed the Hopple Street overpass demolition process for the first time Thursday, but said they still are not certain what went wrong and an internal investigation is ongoing.

Changes made to the plan the morning of Jan. 19 appeared "sloppy" and the "calculations were fundamentally flawed," said Linwood Howell, a senior engineer for Austin, Texas-based XRStructural Engineering Services. Howell, whose firm routinely inspects bridges for the state of Texas, reviewed the documents at The Enquirer's request.

Kokosing officials disagreed with Howell's assessment.

"We are certainly not aware of that (plan being flawed)," Kokosing attorney Scott Young said. "Very experienced engineers proposed the demolition plan."

Kokosing Assistant Vice President John Householder said the entire plan was "very definitive." He added that longtime Kokosing engineer Bret Murray developed the amendment to the plan on the morning of Jan. 19, and it was "checked and stamped" by another veteran company engineer, Burgess L. Decker. Murray has been with the company for 18 years.

"He's a certified professional engineer, and this has never happened before," Young said.

Kokosing did not make Murray available for comment.

Columbus-based Kokosing entered a $91 million contract in November 2012 to overhaul a 1.6-mile stretch of I-75 between the Western Hills Viaduct and I-74 interchange. The centerpiece of the project is remaking the Hopple Street interchange, which provides access to the University of Cincinnati and the region's top hospitals.

Demolition plans are separate from the project's main contract, and records show Kokosing sent its original demolition plan to ODOT on Dec. 19. ODOT reviews the demolition plan, but does not officially approve it, Householder said.

Demolition on the overpass began the night of Jan. 18. Crews had removed the bridge's concrete road surface that spanned the median between northbound and southbound I-75. After tearing that portion down, the next step was to demolish the concrete deck section spanning the southbound lanes, Kokosing officials said.

Before starting that, however, construction workers noticed the beams that supported the road had "lifted" and become loosened from the vertical pier holding up the bridge on the east end, Householder said. Crews immediately stopped all demolition work and called an engineer. No more demolition work was done that night.

"It's exactly what they should have done," Householder said.

Householder added it's not uncommon for crews to encounter an "uplift" problem while tearing down a bridge.

Howell suggested it never should have come to that, though. He is among bridge experts who have questioned why Kokosing did not first remove the middle part of the bridge, the section spanning the southbound lanes. That would have left the two side spans intact to help balance the weight.

The plan all along was to remove the bridge's deck from east to west, Householder said, although that was not specifically detailed in the documents. He added every bridge demolition is different, and before work began engineers conducted an analysis to "verify the structural adequacy" of the beams.

Howell, however, said an analysis "would have revealed the uplift problem that led to the collapse."

Documents show Murray developed a plan the morning of Jan. 19 to anchor down the beams so crews could proceed with the demolition process that night. Two of the three pages of drawings for the plan were timestamped 9:49 a.m. and 9:51 a.m. About 12 1/2 hours later, the bridge collapsed.

The state did not review or have to approve the late changes, Householder said.

After reviewing the drawings, Howell said: "The adjustment made to tie the beams down with anchors was negligently designed such that the installed anchors had significantly less hold-down capacity than the uplift force produced during the demolition."

Experts also have questioned whether Kokosing was rushed to get the Hopple Street overpass demolition done. The main project contract calls for Kokosing to be fined for shutting down lanes. However, the state gives Kokosing allotted time overnight to close lanes without being fined. The company is fined only if it exceeds that allotted time, Householder said.

It's common for lane-closure fines to be included in contracts, he added.

"Really, we had as many nights as we needed to do (the demolition)," Householder said. "No, they weren't rushed."

Carl was standing on the bridge when it collapsed onto the southbound lanes of I-75, killing the father of four from Augusta, Kentucky.

Bridge debris completely shutdown part of the nation's busiest freight corridor for a day.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to investigate the incident, and the agency's final report may not be complete for several months.

Kokosing is a well-regarded company that has done several major highway and bridge projects since being established in 1954. Kokosing officials said top executives have visited Carl's family multiple times, and company employees collected donations to help Carl's fiancee and children.

"We had a lot of outpouring from the employees, sister companies and subcontractors," Householder said. "Brandon was a great foreman. Good guy."

Review the demolition plan documents and Kokosing's explanation of the process: