Downtown Detroit pedestrian bridge undergoes inspections after man claims he fell ...

This story is being reported today on WWJ Newsradio. They said the man is an attorney and the bridge was built in 1953.

Downtown Detroit pedestrian bridge undergoes inspections after man claims he fell through

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A pedestrian bridge in Downtown Detroit is undergoing inspections after a man claimed he fell through the concrete while on his way to a Tigers game.

According to The Detroit News, Ely Hydes was walking to the game on Sunday and crossed the Spruce Street bridge over the Lodge Freeway in Corktown.

The 36-year-old told The Detroit News that he fell nearly 15 feet -- landing near oncoming traffic.

MDOT issued a response stating they were not initially aware of a hole in the bridge until someone at The Detroit News reached out to them.

Hydes says he's considering filing a lawsuit against the state

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• Michigan officials fast-track bridge fix after man says it 'collapsed under my feet'
• Street View May 2019 shows barricades there

I rode my bike across that bridge maybe 2 weeks ago, no barricades or anything at that time.

It's so weird. You'd think with all that rebar in the concrete it would have given way gradually. But the story makes it sound like it collapsed suddenly. And what are the odds that someone would fall all the way through the hole?

What a nightmare.

The Lodge wasn't even built until 1986....From the News article:

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According to Cross, the agency had already planned to inspect the bridge by the end of the month, due to its condition and age; the bridge is nearly 70 years old.

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Originally Posted by Jimaz

It's so weird. You'd think with all that rebar in the concrete it would have given way gradually. But the story makes it sound like it collapsed suddenly. And what are the odds that someone would fall all the way through the hole?

What a nightmare.

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Then to add to it they put 4 pictures on the tweet but not one from below that would have confirmed the details,pointless taking pictures of orange barrels and plywood laying on the surface.

Its plausible that it failed from bottom up but Then there would have been a big dip in the top surface surrounded by a large crack around the circle and very noticeable. Don’t see multiple pieces of rebar giving away just like that.

The Lodge freeway was not built in 1986. It may, however, have been rebuilt in 1986. The question is: when they rebuilt the freeway, did they rebuild the pedestrian bridges? It's clear that the fencing was redone, but whether or not they replaced the original concrete pathway remains to be seen. Sounds like some in-depth investigating is needed.

There is a lot more that needs to be revealed about this story, starting with an investigation of whether the police officers reported it to superiors and who dropped the ball. Also no other pedestrians called it in for a week? Which inspector last approved it? Is this guy that fell through legit? He is a lawyer after all.

I thought Kevin Gunn fixed it.

FBI raids home in new public corruption investigation in Metro Detroit [[detroitnews.com)

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Originally Posted by jcole

The Lodge wasn't even built until 1986....From the News article:

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I drove on the Lodge in the 1970s, and parts of it were getting a bit old by then.

Here's another video. Apparently at this point he doesn't intend to take any legal action. A few more feet and he would have fallen into traffic.

Well, at least it got enough attention to get addressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roO-X4lUW4k
Man falls from pedestrian bridge after it crumbles over Detroit freeway

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The Spruce Street footbridge crumbled beneath Ely Hydes last Monday - and he has the gnarly scrapes and bruises to prove it.

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It reminds me of Invaders from Mars {1953 film}. There's something especially terrifying about terra firma falling away.

You are correct; it was a rebuild. Here is the history of the Lodge in pics that contains the rebuild.
https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=124419

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Originally Posted by royce

The Lodge freeway was not built in 1986. It may, however, have been rebuilt in 1986. The question is: when they rebuilt the freeway, did they rebuild the pedestrian bridges? It's clear that the fencing was redone, but whether or not they replaced the original concrete pathway remains to be seen. Sounds like some in-depth investigating is needed.

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Originally Posted by Jimaz

Here's another video. Apparently at this point he doesn't intend to take any legal action. A few more feet and he would have fallen into traffic.

Well, at least it got enough attention to get addressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roO-X4lUW4k
Man falls from pedestrian bridge after it crumbles over Detroit freeway

It reminds me of Invaders from Mars {1953 film}. There's something especially terrifying about terra firma falling away.

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Thats concrete spalling,where moisture penetration causes the rebar to rust and as it expands it breaks chips and chunks out of the concrete.

That had to have been really noticeable for many years,even worse that support on the left in the photo.

In the link Lowell posted it was mentioned that Detroit’s freeways were designed to be subterranean,which explains why they become rivers during heavy rain events,but imagine if it was capped back then what a bigger mess you would be in due to lack of maintenance?

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Originally Posted by Jimaz

Here's another video. Apparently at this point he doesn't intend to take any legal action. A few more feet and he would have fallen into traffic.

Well, at least it got enough attention to get addressed.

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Yikes! Someone call Joumana for this guy. Maybe as an attorney he thinks it's not worth it, but mamma Kayrouz ought to get him some cash! He could have very easily died, and could easily argue he believed he was going to die.