By Charlotte Smith
North Carolina Department of Transportation District Engineer, Kenneth Clark, PE confirmed earlier today the Highway 701 bridge over the Cape Fear River in Elizabethtown did receive inspection approval.
Contract divers went under the bridge after the debris was removed recently. Clark explained divers were looking for scour damage. Scour, caused by swiftly moving water, can scoop out scour holes, compromising the integrity of a structure, in this case, the bridge, according to Clark.
“We were very pleased with the report,” Clark said.
The announcement about when the southbound bridge being reopened for traffic is not known at this time Clark added.
Repairs have also scheduled to be made to the fender system which protects the bridge. The work on the fender system is to be done by InterCoastal Contracting, Inc., however, is not expected to be completed until September 2019 due to a moratorium on work being performed in the Cape Fear River from February through July according to a previous report by Andrew Barksdale, NCDOT Public Relations Officer.
Related article:
https://bladencounty.org/divers-going-under-bridge-to-assess-damage/
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