Bridge Collapse Sparks Memories
Friday, August 3, 2007 at 1:04PM
3WC DJ

The images and stories of Wednesday's I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn. are like a flashback to people in Surry County. On February 23, 1975, a steel bridge that crossed the Yadkin River at Siloam, N.C. was struck by a car, causing the bridge to fall. On that foggy night, many drivers didn't know the bridge was gone and drove off into the river.

Today, one out of every three North Carolina bridges have the same deficiency rating as the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota. It's a concern among transportation officials, engineers and lawmakers, but the man in charge of North Carolina's roads and bridges says you are safe on the state's 17,000-plus bridges. "We do regular inspections," Department of Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett said. "We are not concerned with immediate safety of any of them."

A state Society of Civil Engineers study shows one-third of North Carolina's bridges are structurally deficient. "It just means it's not designed to carry the current load we have today," Society of Civil Engineers member David Peterson said. "A lot of the bridges we have today are over 50 years old." A Triple-A study also finds that North Carolina has the worst bridges in the southeast and is the 11th worst nationwide.

Article originally appeared on Hometown Christian Radio 3WC (http://www.hometownchristianradio.com/).
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