The 9th Street Tunnel suffered no structural damage as a result of Thursday evening’s Metrobus fire that sent dark smoke billowing into the air of Downtown D.C. and officials said Friday they hope to have the tunnel open by the afternoon rush.
Director of the D.C. Department of Transportation Sharon Kershbaum said the structure of the bridge and its steel beams are secure.
“There was, however, significant heat, and that meant that all of the tiles on the ceiling and the walls actually fell to the ground,” Kershbaum said “So overnight, we cleared all of the debris, and there are still a number of tiles and elements of concrete that are loose, and we are focused on removing any of the hanging and loose concrete and tile to make sure that when we open it up, we don’t have to worry about things falling on the vehicles.”
There’s also a significant amount of electrical work underway.
“There was a large segment where all of the lights were damaged, so for about 150 feet around where the fire occurred, we are currently putting conduit in so we can get the lighting restored,” she said. “The concrete or the asphalt underneath the fire also was damaged. We’ve patched that and we’re putting down temporary striping.”
She said she’s hopeful the bridge will be open for the afternoon rush Friday, but more work will need to be done at a later date.
“Restoring all of the tile face, the lighting, cameras, that can be done over time, so it’s not considered an urgent repair, but it will be somewhat of a lift,” Kershbaum said.
The sounds of construction crews could be heard Friday morning inside the tunnel, just a few hundred feet from where the hybrid diesel bus that caught fire came to rest, under the C St. SW overpass.
The bus caught fire in the tunnel at approximately 7 p.m. The driver was not injured and no one else was riding the bus when the fire started, according to Metro.
Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said Thursday evening that all 32 of the fleet’s hybrid diesel buses would be removed from service and inspected.
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