King bridge drawspan section is put into place

The tugboat John Francis pushes a drawbridge section towards the Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge to be installed today.

The Blade/Andy Morrison
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The drawspan section that has kept the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge from reopening to traffic was jockeyed into place late this afternoon.

The bridge should be reopened to one lane of traffic in each direction within 10 days, barring more delays. The most time-consuming task left is pouring concrete and letting it cure in multiple steps, officials said.

Workers unhook the tug John Francis as it turns a drawbridge section before pushing it into position on the Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge today.

A barge carrying the section had to compete with strong Maumee River currents as it floated the massive device along the waterway in the morning. But it did its job of getting the drawspan section into position by late afternoon, they said.

Lt. Richard Minnich of the U.S. Coast Guard said the federal agency is unlikely to fine the city if it continues to make substantial progress. A weekly briefing between the city, the Coast Guard, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and the contractors will be held tomorrow morning.

The bridge has been out of service to river traffic since Dec. 31 and street traffic since Jan. 30.

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