Workers with Kiewit Infrastructure Group race to stabilize a fractured tie girder that forced an indefinite closure of the key Tennessee-Arkansas crossing.
Arkansas and Tennessee transportation officials say “a catastrophic event” was averted with the discovery of a fractured steel beam in the I-40 Mississippi River Bridge, but it could be months before the crossing is fully repaired and reopened to traffic.
The emergency stabilization of the 36-year-old West Seattle Bridge reached a new milestone after external post-tensioning and the release of a damaged Pier 18 bearing was completed Nov. 10, allowing crews to move toward wrapping girders in carbon fiber.
Rising costs, extensive hurricane-related road and bridge repair work and payouts from land ownership lawsuit settlements have put extra stress on North Carolina Dept. of Transportation’s budget, forcing the agency to lay off hundreds of temporary and contract workers.
Philadelphia’s U.S. Route 13/Frankford Avenue Bridge, the nation’s oldest active vehicular structure, is set to undergo rehabilitation work that will keep it in service for several decades.