All I can say is they don't build them like they used to! And these sorts of problems could have been avoided had they rehabilitated the existing bridge... particularly if they had done a rehab as part of a project to build a one-way couplet of bridges, which would provide redundancy... allowing one bridge to carry two-way traffic if an emergency cropped up with the other bridge.
Bridge has been closed due to a bearing shifting and making the bridge unstable.
http://www.wdrb.com/story/24938542/milton-madison-bridge-eme...
The old bridge trusses came down in Summer 2013. The new bridge is open on temporary piers with strict load limits. After the old trusses were down the piers were renovated and modified for the new bridge. The schedule calls for a 7 day closure while the new trusses are slid over on to the renovated piers which should happen sometime in March 2014.
Just when is the new bridge going to be slid on the permanent foundation?
Yeah, you'd almost think that no one in the world still even knew how to manufacture new truss bridges for a use this significant in this day and age, much less having one actually constructed and BUILT. Nice to see, but restoration or rehabilitation of the original structure and perhaps a relief bridge to the side is always far better than tearing down an old truss and putting up a modern one.
The new bridge is pretty, but I'll agree it doesn't quite do the old one justice. You must admit, though, they could've done a lot worse. At least they're trying to keep the steel through-truss tradition alive, albeit in a more modern form.
Well the world may not end in 2012, but it will witness the end of the Madison-Milton Bridge. Enjoy it while you can, folks, because in March the bridge will be imploded and the
"prefab" bridge will be in its place.
The new Madison-Milton Bridge is scheduled to open on April 17 at 11:59 PM.