The government is widening a whistle-blower probe into the safety of northern Nevada’s 8.5-mile-long Interstate 580 extension between Reno and Carson City, following the discovery of a hairline crack in one of its bridges.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 24 directed U.S. Dept. of Transportation Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel to expand his investigation of the project’s final leg to include the 1,722-ft-long, 295-ft-tall Galena Creek Bridge. It will be North America’s longest cathedral-arch bridge when completed in fall 2011. Dickinson, N.D.-based Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. is the general contractor on $393.3-million project, with C.C. Myers Inc., Rancho Cordova, Calif., as bridge subcontractor.