Bridges

You never know what you're going to stumble across on the Internet. We have a bridge nearby, on Interstate 85. It's old and crumbly and has had tons (literally) of blacktop reapplied -- making the top much heavier than the structure was designed to handle. Or so I hear.

So when I ran across a website that mentioned the federal transportation agency's inventory of bridges, I was intrigued. The federal website does not appear to impart the information free of charge, but the press can pay for the info and post it. I found one version on MSNBC. I entered Charlotte, NC to Greensboro, NC, in an effort to isolate the bridge.

I found it interesting that three bridges in a row, all on Interstate 85, are indicated as carrying traffic to the tune of 27,500 cars, 28,000 cars, and 57,000 cars -- all on the same road, within a mile of each other. The bridge I was looking up is rated as "structurally deficient" but at the same time, "meets minimum tolerable limits to be left as is." Is this fed hooey for, it's unsafe but we aren't doing anything about it?

The bridge straddles the line between 2 counties. The state has inadequate funds to build a new bridge. Yet if/when this bridge fails, the economy of much of the southern US will suffer, if only for a while until different routes are identified. 85 runs from Petersburg, VA, near Richmond, through Atlanta, to Montgomery, AL. 85 is THE major north-south artery for VA, NC, SC, GA and AL. A failed bridge in the middle would definitely have an impact on transport of goods.

Me, I say a prayer every time I cross it.

Feel free to enter your own data and learn about the safety of bridges near you.