Massive fire damage, closure of the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge over the Ohio River on both sides of I-471

CINCINNATI (WXIX) — The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge and both sides of Interstate 471 over the Ohio River are closed to the morning commute after a major fire damaged the bridge early Friday.

Both will remain closed at least during the morning commute, said Cincinnati Fire Department Deputy Chief Matt Flagler.

It is unclear when the highway and bridge will reopen because the fire damaged the bridge's structural steel, he said.

Cincinnati firefighters responded to a large outdoor fire at Sawyer Point Park just before 3:30 a.m

According to initial emergency reports, firefighters reported “concrete falling on the north side of the bridge” and “significant metal deformation under the bridge to the point where it could fail.”

“The Sawyer Point Park playground was heavily impacted by the fire and the fire actually spread to the bridge structure of the I-471 bridge. The fire on the bridge was fairly complex and caused some damage to the structural steel of the bridge,” said Cincinnati Deputy Fire Chief Matt Flagler.

According to Flagler, the fire has been contained and crews remain on site to carry out final firefighting, overhaul and recovery operations.

According to Jake Ryle, KYTC spokesman, inspectors from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet are on scene.

“I know that both ODOT and KYTC have bridge inspectors who are on site now and will begin inspecting the bridge after the fire has been extinguished and it is safe to do so. They will inspect and look through the bridge to determine if it is safe to allow traffic back onto the bridge. We don’t have a timeline yet for what will take place.”

The Cincinnati Fire Investigation Unit is working to determine the cause.

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