RSS Feed
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ronnie Day, Jeremy Cartwright and foreman Andy Gentry have been working on construction of the bridges since November. The fourth bridge, a 407-feet long overpass crossing Harshaw Rd., is the tallest bridge in the set, towering 64 feet, more than six stories, across the valley. Roughly equivalent to the height of the fallen Minnesota bridge, the workers expressed no doubt that it would be much more secure and stronger upon completion.
Harrison Keely/ Sentinel Photo Construction worker Ronnie Day works on the tallest of the bridges on the new road from Murphy to Peachtree. The bridge is roughly the equivalent hight of the one that collapsed in Minnesota Wednesday, August 1. "These are a lot safer, I don't think these bridges here will fall," Gentry said. Adding that he didn't believe there were enough braces on the Minnesota bridge, Gentry said that the problem with overhead bridges such as that one was that all of the structure's framework was located underneath.
There are 750 bridges in the United States with the same design, according to Brian Turmail, a spokesman for the Transportation Department. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters urged all states to inspect such bridges Thursday.
According to a DOT database, 2,186 of North Carolina's 12,596 bridges are structurally deficient. In addition, one of every three bridges in the state are substandard according to the federal government.
Day, Cartwright and Gentry expressed amazement over the the efficiency of the news on the disaster. "With today's technology everybody has a camera phone or something," Day said. Gentry, stating that he'd like to review the video a security camera captured of the actual cave-in, pointed out that investigators still had no clue as to what had caused the accident.
"I think they should have had us build it," Cartwright, a Polk County resident, said. Day stated that the workers who built the bridge in Minnesota 40 years prior had no idea what would take place.
However, studies from the Minnesota Department of Transportation as recent as 2001 proved that the bridge was undergoing structural fatigue.
Each day over 140,000 vehicles crossed the bridge that was only two years ago labeled "structurally deficient by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Studies suggested that the design of the bridge's main truss could cause a collapse if one of two support planes were to become cracked. Despite this knowledge, the study concluded that "fatigue cracking of the deck truss is not likely" and "replacement of the bridge ... may be deferred."
Completing the Harshaw Overpass Bridge will take another two months according to Gentry. The fifth bridge, 732 feet across the Hiawassee River into Peachtree, has already been poured with concrete and the third, over Martins Creek, is entering final stages as well.
Only a fraction of the traffic crossing the Minnesota bridge daily will be seen on the new highway between Murphy and Peachtree. An estimated 12,000 to 17,000 cars will make use of the road by 2024.
Approximately 30 people are working on the $48 million road according to Cartwright, who stated that the first bridge across the Hiawassee River in Murphy will feature the longest span in the state.
"It's got the longest span inbetween the columns that're going over the river and there ain't no bracing. It's not the longest bridge, but the longest span. That's one reason I guess the beams are so much bigger, to help hold the weight." Cartwright said that the new bridge would weigh about 80 tons and be the longest of the series.
The AAA of the Carolinas released a statement saying that North Carolina's bridges are in the worst shape of any state in the Southeast. None of the bridges, according to their report, are in danger of collapsing, but a large percent are in need of repair.
The report was requested by Lyndo Tippett during the Board of Transportation's monthly meeting in Raleigh, according to spokesman Ernie Seneca. Less than 24 hours after the Minnesota disaster Seneca stated that no new bridge inspections were immediately planned in N.C.
Seneca said, "We have a rigorous and aggressive bridge inspection and oversight program." He added that every bridge in the state is inspected at least every two years and that in the case that inspectors uncover an immediate safety problem the bridge is shut down for repairs.
To comment on this article, e-mail Harrison at hkeely@gmail.com.
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
