Several North Carolina Bridges Are In Poor Condition
Several North Carolina bridges are in poor condition because they use old outdated materials. These materials may not be very safe either. Most of the bridges over waterways or roads are loaded with steel and concrete. It’s what’s under the concrete foundations at either end of the bridge that holds outdated material. That material is wood. What the?? Wood holding up a bridge?
The N.C. Department of Transportation considers these bridges as “timber bridges,” according to the News and Observer. That simply means they have wood somewhere in their structure, and people in cars can’t see it. Using wood is pretty much considered an outdated method in road bridge construction. Wood rots too soooo.
With the recent disastrous collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore I was curious in the condition of our North Carolina bridges. According to the NCDOT decade ago, 16.4% of bridges were considered to be in poor condition. That number more recently lands at about 8.4%. More than half the bridges in poor condition contain some wood. No surprise there.
The NCDOT is currently replacing many of these older “timber bridges” with new ones made totally of concrete and steel. Many of the state’s timber bridges are rated in “poor condition.” Timber bridges are all across NC, however most are in the outer counties. It’s no coincidence that those mountain counties also have the highest number of bridges in poor condition, accounting for more than half of the state’s total. “If we’re trying to address the condition of our bridges and improve it, it looks like a big chunk in the western part of the state are these timber bridges,” Brian Hanks, NCDOT’s state structures engineer told the News and Observer.
What makes North Carolina bridges to be deemed in poor condition
Bridge conditions are rated with a formula the federal government came up with. Bridges are categorized as “poor, fair or good condition.” This may sound familiar as the Key Bridge in Baltimore had a fair rating before it collapsed after a container ship hit it’s pillar. 3 key categories are used to decide a bridges current condition. The foundation, the support beams and the deck or the road.
