By Charlotte Smith
Hurricane Florence devastated many areas of Bladen County. Elizabethtown, the county seat, did not have as many residents reporting damages, but issues involving a main bridge and cemetery in the town has many citizens eagerly awaiting answers.
An extreme amount of debris under the U.S. Highway 701 bridge over the Cape Fear River in Elizabethtown has caused concerns about possible damage to the bridge. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has been sorting through solutions with the Town of Elizabethtown officials, InterCoastal Contracting, Inc and the Army Corps of Engineers about the bridge project, according to Andrew Barksdale, Public Relations Officer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Barksdale explained bridges are developed to withstand a lot of weight on top, but bridges are not developed to withstand a lot of weight pushing on the sides.
“It’s a giant mess,” Barksdale said about the pile of debris currently under the US Highway 701 bridge.
The bridge first accumulated debris under it during Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Inter Coastal Contracting, Inc., an unlimited general contracting company from Castle Hayne, was awarded a scope of work to clean up the debris and fix the fender system.
A fender system, similar to a guard rail on a road, is to deflect debris, including boats, from running into the columns or support structures of the bridge, according to Barksdale.
The contractor was approved to begin work on the fender system under the bridge in Elizabethtown in September 2018. There was a moratorium from February until July, extending the time for repairs to be completed to the fender system to September 2019 Barksdale explained.
Since Hurricane Florence hit in September, when the first scope of work was scheduled to begin, the contractor was unable to start on the debris removal and fender repairs. The debris and log jam has grown a considerable amount in size and so has the extent of work needed under the bridge.
“We don’t know if there is damage to the bridge until the log jam is removed. It is too dangerous to send divers in before the logs and debris are removed,” Barksdale said, “We have to be environmentally cautious.”
A permit with the Town of Elizabethtown and the state of North Carolina has been obtained and a specialized scope of work is being prepared. Barksdale gave a layout of the plan. He explained the plan includes removing the log jam by recycling the plastic bottles, grinding up the logs and taking the trash to the landfill; another small bridge may be built to assist with a crane and a barge may be used.
After the log jam is unclogged and safe, divers will inspect the bridge to see if there is any damage. Barksdale added because of the moratorium, the contractor is not likely to complete repairs to the fender system until January 2020.
The maintenance of restoring the concrete surface of the northbound U.S. 701 bridge was approved in August of this year as well and also scheduled to begin; however, the maintenance work has been postponed until the log jam and fender system scope of work is completed, according to Barksdale.
The southbound bridge will remain closed until further notice while debris removal and fender repairs are being made.
The Elizabethtown City Cemetery near the bridge location suffered geological damage as well since Hurricane Florence. Town of Elizabethtown Mayor Sylvia Campbell and Town Manager Eddie Madden have reported speaking with several experts about the damages at the cemetery.
“The process will be very slow,” Madden reported this week about the repairs needed at the cemetery.
Several experts have been consulted about the geological damage at the cemetery and the issue is a top priority, according to Madden, but no firm plans have been made.
However, property has been secured for another cemetery near the airport in Elizabethtown. Anyone who wishes to move their loved ones’ remains from the damaged cemetery on S. Queen Street to the new property may do so according to Madden.
BladenOnline.com reached out to Retired Engineering Geologist, Steve Steinbeck, with more than forty years of experience to gain some insight on the geological issues the cemetery may be facing.
Steinbeck said he totally discounts the damages seen at the cemetery are related to a drain culvert. In his opinion there are a couple of theories that may be applied.
Steinbeck’s first theory for the cause of the geological damage is a layer of marl, a type of soil containing calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud, turning soft and giving way due to the extreme amount of rain dumped in the area during Hurricane Florence.
The second theory is an uplift resistance of soils on settled pressures.
“We could argue theories all day long,” Steinbeck said, “It may be stable, but the only way to know is to do borings in the area.”
Soil borings are tests of the soil performed by geotechnical engineers by drilling holes into the soil in order to determine different factors about the soil.
Although the cemetery is in close proximity to the US Highway 701 bridge, Steinbeck suggests the damages at the cemetery are “very localized” and with the difference in elevation between the bridge and the cemetery there is no real risk in the damages from the cemetery extending to the bridge.
Two experts agreed the soil damage at the cemetery appears to be in a large oval shape. When we asked Town Manager Madden if borings would be done at the cemetery he reiterated several experts were being consulted but no definitive decisions have been made at this time.
Steinbeck did admit he is retired from geological work and does not do consulting work, and was willing to speak with us because of his interest in the damage. Steinbeck said he would suggest an expert Geologist be contacted to assist in the repair process of the cemetery.
Mayor Campbell reported seeking advice from several experts is necessary in order to make the correct decisions for such a delicate, important decision. Mayor Campbell also explained the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assisted a cemetery in Fayetteville with damages in the past with funding and is hopeful the Town of Elizabethtown will receive assistance from FEMA for the repairs needed at the cemetery as well.
Related articles and videos:
https://bladencounty.org/damages-grow-at-cemetery-no-new-news-with-bridge/
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