I was not able to get a photograph of the bridge as as. They rejected a proposed steel bridge in favor of a slightly cheaper concrete model estimated at $77M. In the early-1950s, the Michigan State Highway Department constructed a Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. During the six-month shutdown, traffic was rerouted via I-675 through downtown Saginaw and massive back-ups were common. I-675 was built, in part, to help traffic bypass the original drawbridge while the current high-level Zilwaukee Bridge was being proposed and constructed, in addition to providing better access into and through downtown Saginaw. 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. That way, neither vehicle nor shipping traffic would be impeded by the other. 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. The agency's Bay Region spokeswoman Anita Richardson said MDOT will follow the recommendations of an independent report on the mishap to make sure construction mistakes dont occur in the future on the Zilwaukee Bridge or on other Bay Region road work. According to MDOT records, other proposals included barring river traffic, relocating the freeway and digging a tunnel under the river. Though some have speculated that the bridge was glued together, theyre not entirely far off. Boat traffic was also backed up on the river, as shipping traffic quadrupled in the years after the bridge opened. or pillar. I dont know whether or not the problem with the Z-Bridge is limited to the Z-Bridge or not, said Kahn, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a recent interview. Annotated Aerial Image, I-75 and Zilwaukee Bridge Improvements: Construction and Motorist Information, Photography The town's founders called it Zilwaukee to confuse it with the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in hopes of luring settlers there to work. If not replaced, the normal shifting movements of the bridge would cause additional damage, thus reducing its lifespan. Yes, the Zilwaukee Bridge of 1960 was a drawbridge. High pressure injection The initial budget of $79 million had already been exceeded by $48 million, when at time in 1982, the bridge was roughly two-thirds completed, and a 150-foot (46 m) long segment weighing 6,700-ton (6,070 metric tonnes), not being properly counterbalanced, tipped down to being five feet (1.5 m) out of alignment, with the other end rising 3.5 feet (1.1 m). Crank up the tunes. girder picks up the segments from the truck and delivers them to the location The segments are erected by a massive piece of machinery called a launching The hauler, based in Zilwaukee, transports auto parts and agriculture products. and can roll across these legs when necessary to move to a new position In 2008, a $3.3 million construction project to replace bridge bearings hit a snag. construction in the United States and Canada. 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. 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. stronger than that usually specified by MDOT for bridge decks. It took a decade to complete and was so plagued with problems it came very close to not opening at all. as they come together and fills the tiny imperfections in the faces. The so-called balanced cantilever construction went way out of balance. The dramatic failure of the Zilwaukee Bridge was successfully repaired by the State of Michigan in 1983. The Michigan Department of Transportation says it will close two lanes of traffic on the I-75 Zilwaukee Bridge tomorrow and Thursday. in the completed 1.5-mile-long bridge. in 1953. In the 1980's, Toebe completed a number of large . (Thanks to Claire Kerk for the tip!). Construction of the bridge would resume. We want your experiences too! About 15 years after it opened, plans to replace it with a high-level bridge would start gaining steam, according to Michigan Highways. a new contractor. of steel cable, and each strand is formed by seven wires about one-eighth We are working to learn more information. There will be about 27,000 miles of eighth-inch wire The original bid for the project was $76.8 million. The northbound portion of the bridge was finally opened to traffic on December 23, 1987, just in time for Christmas. It was only 150 feet wide and several ships ended up clipping the bridge, causing damage and even more traffic issues. While the most obvious But apparently, the settlers of the small town named it Zilwaukee (originally Zilwaukie) as a homage to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which at the time was one of the fastest growing industrial cities in the region. joint between the segments. 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. After a bridge span is complete and construction A match-cast segment is attached to one side of that pier group Investigators said there were five reasons for the failure. However, let's step back in time to the genesis of the crossing segments is then pulled together with high-strength steel cables, also 195 lessons. It was a lime-stone hauler from Buffalo. Another important step is taken to protect steel cables from corrosion. This would have been a big enough problem with only the increased vehicle traffic, but Michigan's growing economy also meant that shipping traffic was rapidly increasing. Increased traffic led to the construction of a four-lane drawbridge that raised to let boats pass in 1960. Department of Transportation. The segmental bridge is built from individual concrete pieces, or segments, It was actually a four-lane draw bridge and a freeway beginning at the northern end of the. The compound gets rid of the ice without any worry of corrosion to the bridge. in France and Germany in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Saginaw News reported on the price tag to keep the Zilwaukee Bridge free of snow and ice.The don't use cheap salt which would result in corrosion of. Zilwaukee Bridge: From the Beginning, Michigan concerns and painting costs with steel bridges. The best, most concise description of the Zilwaukee Bridge can be found The bridge has twin decks built of a series of high-strength reinforced concrete segments held together by thousands of firmly tensioned steel cables. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. These bearings do require extensive maintenance and replacement, as they see more wear and tear than typical construction elements might. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The Zilwaukee Bridge exists as an alternative to the federal governments original I-75 design. There were discussions about abandoning the project completely. An MDOT report found the 2008 issues were due to faulty documentation from the original construction, according to Michigan Highways. The Z-Bridge, as it has come to be called, has a rich and, at times, dangerous history, but its without a doubt one of the best-known bridges in Michigan. Michigan Highways > In Depth: The Zilwaukee Bridge, Page Contents: History The Replacement & Accident Ongoing Maintenance Zilwaukee The Zilwaukee Bridge is a massive segmental concrete bridge that carries the I-75 over the Saginaw River in Michigan. .004 inches (about the thickness of a human hair). Sometimes, the back-ups exceeded 30 miles and several hours in length. Ha! back end and drives directly off. However, construction of the new segmental concrete bridge ran into trouble in 1982 when an expansion joint was overloaded, crushing the temporary expansion block. Then again, there's not much about THIS bridge that I had known prior to when I first visited this website last year. Why is the Zilwaukee Bridge so tall? needed to complete the bridge. onto the bridge, unhooks from the front end of the trailer, hooks to the 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. He's been with WDIV since 2013. Work began on the southbound span first during 2013 and then transitioned over to the northbound bridge during 2014. Chynoweth noted the new bearings would double the Zilwaukee Bridge's lifespan to a now-predicted 100 years, or through 2087. Almost exactly nine months later, the southbound side of the bridge was opened. These joints have to be kept perfectly immobile during construction, so they are filled with temporary blocks held in place with steel tendons. We have some major businesses here in town that must have that expressway open.. 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. 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. [3] The Zilwaukee Bridge is approximately 8,000 feet (2,400m) in length and rises 125 feet (38m) at its highest point.[1][2]. After an extensive investigation, five separate factors were identified, but the main issue was that too much construction weight was placed on the joint while the deck was being built. Posted July 9, 2019, by Melissa Brand-Welch, National Bridge Inventory 2021: (Nearby Bridges), Bridgehunter.com: Historic Bridges of the United States, http://bridgehunter.com/mi/saginaw/saginaw-river/, July 9, 2019: New photo from Melissa Brand-Welch, November 13, 2018: New photo from Douglas Butler, October 6, 2018: New photos from Douglas Butler, August 6, 2014: New Street View added by Douglas Butler. Unfortunately, that wasn't the reality. cannot effectively be injected or sealed. To use information contained on this site is to do so at your own risk. One place where this really became an issue was in the town of Zilwaukee, Michigan in the US. And it wasnt just the cars that suffered. My concern is (if) there are other examples out there of marked drawings that are incomplete. Michigan Highways > In Depth: The Zilwaukee Bridge: From the Beginning. Construction crews began work on a major renovation project on the Zilwaukee Bridge this week. In November 1978, bids were taken for either a steel or concrete bridge, according to MDOT records. Without the Zilwaukee Bridge, it would be much more difficult for drivers to pass through the region. Back to: Section 2: Background This was done because the truck and trailer wouldnt have enough space to turn around. The 1982 accident completely stopped construction. Department of Transportation in response to public concerns about Really makes me wonder - if that was a seriously considered plan, what happened? All rights reserved (About Us). Photo taken by Douglas Butler in August 2014, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY). Each one was closely inspected by a specially of Jason Hill: Zilwaukee Gallery, Michigan in Pictures: The Zilwaukee Bridge, Zilwaukee This high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River is said to be the perfect example on how not to build a bridge. They ride electric cars inside to inspect and do repairs.

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