State engineers in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi began assessing damages and preparing emergency repair bids last week and plans for long-term rebuilding just began to emerge. Some facilities survived better than engineers worst fears but two Mississippi bridges washed away.
Two of four lanes of Alabamas Cochrane-Africatown U.S.A. Bridge over Mobile Bay remained closed last week as engineers assessed damage to suspension cables. They were hit by a 13,000-ton oil platform cut loose from its moorings (ENR 9/5 p. 13). The impact knocked the center span 4 in. to the north and into a main pier. "The impact opened a substantial spall in the pier and numerous smaller spalls, exposing the rebar on the underside of the decks overhang," says Nick Amberger, a maintenance engineer for the Alabama Dept. of Transportation.