Viaduct to be demolished?

By Adrian Sanchez asanchez@columbustelegram.com
Monday, Mar 24, 2008 - 11:23:35 am CDT

COLUMBUS -- The 33rd Avenue viaduct may need to be demolished all at once rather than the previously planned partial closures and reconstruction.

The possibility came to light when recent inspections found greater deterioration than expected.

A special meeting of the City Council is scheduled for March 31, and the city and state are working to coordinate efforts regarding how to proceed.

City Administrator Joseph Mangiamelli said the inspection results should not affect anyone’s driving habits, but probably will affect the schedule of and method used during reconstruction of the viaduct.

The $8.7 million project of the 33rd Avenue viaduct, which carries traffic from U.S. Highways 81 and 30, was expected to take two years with construction scheduled to begin in October.

The viaduct, built in 1930 and widened in 1978, carried about 20,000 vehicles each day in 2006.

The initial replacement plan was to work on the eastern two lanes to maintain two-lane traffic, with one lane in each direction on the western side and reversing the procedure when the eastern half was complete.

With the latest information, Mangiamelli said, the entire viaduct may have to be brought down at once, but more information will be made available following a conference call planned today with the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR). The city and NDOR are expected to discuss the current situation and status of the viaduct and converse about a possible change in the 33rd Avenue viaduct reconstruction schedule.

As for citizen’s safety, “presently, we have not determined it (the viaduct) to not be a safe structure,” Mangiamelli said. “We don’t think it is unsafe at the present time.”

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So
Mar 24, 2008 11:44 AM
I do not see how they can close the entire road. The city just got done saying that Fire and Medical have to use the road to get to the south side. If there is no road the whole south side will go up in flames. It sounds like it will be a safty issue with no road.

Why was this problem not spotted before it was to late?

Would all of those 20,000 vehicles be using the downtown crossing?

Would the trucks coming from the East have to use the 3rd Ave Super Road. and take 8th Street?

Sounds like a mess.
Question
Mar 24, 2008 12:43 PM
Does anyone know when this would have to be demolished? Before the construction on the other viaducts are finished?
yep
Mar 24, 2008 1:31 PM
serves you right columbus, if you would have built the other viaducts years ago, wouldn't be such a big problem, now you are going to suffer for your lack of progress
hahahahaha
Mar 24, 2008 1:34 PM
This is what a traffic engineer friend said was going to happen when Columbus spent all those years fighting over putting in others viaducts. What a bunch of short-sighted, stupid idiots live in this town. POWER and PROGRESS. hahahahahahaha. Now those opposed to the viaducts will have fun stuck in traffic jams at all the crossings. City of WIMPS and COMPLAINERS. This is truly going to be fun to watch. Let the games begin.
wow
Mar 24, 2008 1:36 PM
What a joke talk about being unprepared. We should of been building 1 or more viaducts 6 years ago. Now we have no back up plan. Thanks to all the people who voted against the 3rd ave viaduct (1st time). Hope you folks like to sit & wait for trains better plan more time to get across town.
hmmm,just thinking
Mar 24, 2008 2:41 PM
I am having an issue with the last comment made on this article. "We don't think" it is unsafe at the present time. Does this mean that it might be, or could be,, but don't think so right now?
something2consider
Mar 24, 2008 2:43 PM
Once again the city of Columbus will have problems caused by the rail road tracks. Columbus could make U.P. reroute the tracks around town and all of the viaduct problems would be taken care of
Remember
Mar 24, 2008 3:34 PM
The 1978 project routed traffic from 23rd St. down 23rd Ave. and then west on 8th St. I remember there was a (one) cop on the south side at all times and fire and rescue hoped for the best. I don't think trucks were allowed to use 3rd Avenue - but there wasn't a corn processing plant east of town then either. More traffic and more congestion all the way around now.
westerheimer
Mar 24, 2008 3:50 PM
Suits the town right for taking 30+ years to solve the viaduct issue...I'm glad I'm long gone from Columbus!!!
jeff
Mar 24, 2008 5:12 PM
What they should do is build that dam bypass around the entire town first. Then build the viaducts. Then tear down 33rd ave. viaduct. They should also put in some islands at the 23rd and 23rd intersection before walgreens opens.
figures
Mar 24, 2008 5:56 PM
Is this really a surprise to anyone? The "powers that be" in this town have had their heads in places other than on their shoulders for so long it's a wonder anything is right.
rhonda
Mar 24, 2008 7:19 PM
If there are going to be such huge traffic jams. Then we need shopping malls at the end of them like Omaha, or any city really. c'mom make it worth the aggrivation
Jack
Mar 24, 2008 7:37 PM
Why not talk about for 10 more years and then bring it down. That way the other viaducts will be done.
matt
Mar 24, 2008 7:39 PM
At least the DBA will be getting some of the traffic they've always wanted...too bad there aren't any businesses down there to appeal to these new potential customers.
hahahahaha
Mar 24, 2008 8:04 PM
So true Matt. Good old DBA. Although it's not all of them. There were some who supported the viaducts. Oh well, let the traffic jams and road rage begin.
Jeanne Kohtz
Mar 25, 2008 7:20 AM
How can Mangiamelli say closing the viaduct for construction won't affect anyone's driving habits? Where will the cars go? Why does construction start in October....the beginning of winter??
TOW
Mar 25, 2008 7:37 AM
So if we had a 3rd ave viaduct semi's driving 81 south to north would have to go down 8th to 3rd and cross??? GET REAL! A viaduct at 3rd and 23rd would NOT help this problem. So you can quit pounding your chest and saying "i told you so" because you haven't solved anything.
Engineer
Mar 25, 2008 8:42 AM
Well, so much for that plan...It looks like we will have to try to build a new viaduct first, then replace the one on 33rd. I do hope that the 8th st residances don't have to pay for the road once the truck traffic ruins it for the 2 years the trucks will be coming down it! Lets learn from the 3rd ave road repair issues!

klem
Mar 25, 2008 8:59 AM
There are ways to get completely around Columbus. Many people will simply completely avoid the town. It's a few extra miles, but less sitting in traffic.
smcrpntr54
Mar 25, 2008 9:14 AM
to hahahahaha,
Yes we do have SOME shortsighted people in this town. Just as every town has. We are just unfortunate enough to have most of them sit on our city council and as mayor.
They should have just said it is going to happen and this is where it is going, 15 years or so. But No, there is always someone that has to be unhappy with the location. What's that old saying? "you can't please everyone all of the time and you can't please some of them any of the time".
Columbus just as well outlaw motor vehicle traffic and revert back to horse and buggy.
Power and Progress, yeah right! what a joke. They should have just put it downtown because it is a ghost town anyway. It wouldn't bother as many residents as it will in other places. The Downtown Business Association may not like this but we have poured enough of the taxpayers money into a lost cause. Get with the times downtowners, Business is better near the main roadways.
I got off the subject but most people in this town knew something had to give at sometime. Perhaps the council wasn't shortsighted but just afraid to act. they would lose some of their supporters that would help them get re-elected.
No matter how they handle the situation it is not going to set well with the truckers and out of town traffic that comes through here.
Now we'll see if this comment gets on here. I could have been moore cruel but I can spread it around.
act now, not later
Mar 25, 2008 10:05 AM
ACT NOW before there is a repeat of the bridge collapse in Minnesota. To the "powers that be" in Columbus Nebraska; get off your duffs NOW and get started on the new viaducts SOONER. Red tape can be cut through, I saw it happen after the 94 earthquake in southern California when they rebuilt a major freeway in a matter of weeks instead of years. THE TIME FOR TALK HAS LONG PASSED, DON'T ADD DEATHS AND LAWSUITS TO IT TOO BY WAITING.
RE: Hmmm..just thinking
Mar 25, 2008 11:43 AM
I totally agree! I'm surprised that more people are not concerned about this issue either!!
WAIT!
Mar 25, 2008 11:54 AM
Wait... we haven't spent enough on studies of this yet...we can't demolish it until hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on various studies and we vote on it several times!
Turtle
Mar 25, 2008 2:58 PM
Should not be a total shock. Sounds just like the Pawnee pool. Wait until it is completely useless then decide hey maybe we should build a new one & go a whole year with nothing. Right on Parr for this joke of a city. Should change name from power & progress to if it's not broke don't fix it. How fitting that every summer we hold turtle races downtown that says it all about this place !
GW
Mar 25, 2008 4:16 PM
PLEASE!!! Drive up 23rd ave in the mornings before school..mind you, this is when the detour is proposed....This road is packed the way it is w/ parents taking their kids to school..then put a detour on top of those people! You have got to be kidding ME!!! Why is the city engineer the highest paid employee??? He needs that window installed in his navel so he can see better!!! This is absurd! Please people...attend the meeting!!!!!! Especially you who voted NO on the viaduct..this is your baby!
columalum
Mar 25, 2008 5:21 PM
It's very unfortunate that this city can't seem to figure out much- other than the mistakes that were made from years and years of poor planning and forecasting. These planners should change jobs to weather forecasting since it's the only people who still have jobs after being consistently wrong.
reality check
Mar 25, 2008 7:45 PM
Yes, we have all known that the 33rd Ave viaduct was going to need to be rebuilt. DUH. Yes, if we were to push the red tape and get a viaduct at either 3rd or 12th built sooner, it would alleviate a small amount of the congestion that this will cause. Yes, there is a lot of poor planning on the part of the city, and the state for that matter. But, why are they looking at routing the detour up 23rd Ave instead of 26th Ave? It would be shorter on 26th, and there aren't schools on 26th, and it wouldn't trash nearly as much of 8th street. And for *&@^ Sake, at least detour the truck traffic south of town as much as possible and GET A LEFT TURN LIGHT AT 23RD AVE!!!! We need to get this done now, that is not in question, we don't want a repeat of the Minneapolis bridge situation. But, to those of you who think that if we just had a viaduct in place elsewhere- don't fool yourselves into thinking that it would really make that much difference in the traffic congestion that will ensue. It won't. The real traffic problems caused by this will be far from the tracks.
moved away
Mar 25, 2008 9:15 PM
Yes it looks to me like someeone missed something somewhere. Columbus should NOT have the sign Power & Progress in it. Is should say Snail trails.......I lived South of town and went over the viaduct almost everyday to work. I would be very upset if I had to deal with this on a daily base. Sorry Columbus. You do have new jobs moving in, which means more people, which means more traffic and now for awhile NO Viaducts......again I say sorry.........
Amazing Grace
Mar 25, 2008 10:10 PM
Shocked again I tells ya. Why anyone is surprised, why anyone would complain, is just too much to laugh at in one day. If you can set back and honestly say that you didn't see this happening, go ahead and put your head back in the sand. Columbus ONCE AGAIN has become a source of amusement for the rest of the state. If the city leaders in the town ever wake up to reality, I will fall over dead. The saddest part is that this is business as usual for Columbus for HOW LONG NOW??? Guess it's my own fault that I still live here, but that can change, unlike the mindset of those that run this place.
Idea
Mar 26, 2008 8:39 AM
Not surprised either. Over and over again mistakes are made by the leaders of this town. As soon as my youngest is grown, we are out of here. The people that continually drag this town down (and you know what families I am talking about)can have it. They want nothing to change. I would not run for the council but refused to vote anyone in. I say we go to the poles and vote for "no one"
wow
Mar 26, 2008 9:20 AM
and on top of the new jobs creating more traffic, didn't the Columbus School Distric vote to close a school in Duncan and all those kids will be coming into columbus now so their will be all of the parents driving into town to bring the kids to school from the south!!! what ever happened to thinking things out?
fresh minds needed
Mar 26, 2008 1:03 PM
All of you need to run for council seats and for mayor come next election. I am not joking, everyone in there now needs to be tossed out and new blood brought in. Stupid is as stupid does and they do! Telegram, I expect to see this letter printed. You seem to shy away from letters that expose the city leadership and the truth of what they have done. You have my e mail address to respond to me to tell me why you are not printing it if that is your decision. If you don't you are part of the problem.
Right on
Mar 27, 2008 9:37 AM
I agree 100% with TURTLE on this one. Just read his article that pretty much sums it up.
State Project
Mar 27, 2008 3:50 PM
Does everyone realize this is a STATE project on a STATE highway? The city has to go by the STATE timetable when using STATE funds. They are giving the city the option to repair as originally planned (half at a time) or tear it down and do it all at once. Guess the Telegram headlines led everyone to believe the worst. The special meeting with the STATE presenting their story is scheduled for Monday evening.
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