DAYTON-- Montgomery County officials say the tragic bridge deck collapse on an exit ramp to Hopple St. in Cincinnati is most likely a fluke accident.
"This was a very unique situation. It doesn't indicate a widespread problem with other collapses like this occurring," said Paul Gruner, the Montgomery Co. Engineer.
The bridge exited the left side of I-75 northbound and went across the southbound lanes.
"Probably some of the bridges that have been removed on the I-75 project here were similar to this bridge but again, not exactly like this bridge," said Gruner.
Two of the exits from I-75 to U.S. 35 and vice versa are similar in style in that they cross over the oncoming lanes of the interstate.
Gruner says it's easy to plan and build something but admits removing old bridges can be tricky.
"When you're dealing with demolition, you're dealing with a bridge that's been in place for 60-70 years in this case, I don't know exactly how old it is... You don't know what kind of, exactly what kind of deterioration has taken place in there," said Gruner.
There are 31 structurally deficient bridges just in Montgomery County. That means they are in need of serious rehab or replacement.
"If they're not safe for the public, we'll close it or put a load reduction [on the bridge] and do the best we can to make sure there's no failures on in-service bridges," said Gruner.
When it comes to keeping safe and following any rules or guidelines, it's usually up to the contractor. In this case Kokosing, who is also doing the work on the I-75 in the Dayton area.
Gruner says safety is always the top priority for any construction crew.
"There are no two bridges in the country that are exactly like this bridge where this occurred and so things sometimes happen that we don't expect because the project is different than all other projects," said Gruner.