
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 9, 1994                   TAG: 9411090059
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

RECENTLY REPAIRED RADFORD BRIDGE TO GET STUDY

A team of engineers and inspectors is scheduled to start an "extensivei study" of Memorial Bridge on U.S. 11 between Radford and Pulaski County today, the Virginia Department of Transportation has announced. The bridge is the primary link over the New River between the city and Fairlawn's business district in Pulaski County.

The Roanoke engineering firm of Hayes, Seay, Mattern and Mattern will do the work, which will cost $100,000 and take two to four weeks.

The detailed inspection comes a little more than six months after the 50-year-old structure was abruptly and unexpectedly shut down for almost a month because of serious rust damage in several support trusses uncovered during a routine check. Subsequent emergency repairs cost approximately $362,000.

David Clarke, VDOT assistant resident engineer in Christiansburg, said a six-month inspection in October showed no new problems. "We're very pleased," Clarke said Tuesday, "considering the [bridge's] age."

The bridge closing last April left Fairlawn stores and restaurants stranded from their Radford customer base and disrupted commuting patterns in the area, forcing some motorists to detour up to 15 miles out of their way on rural byways. Only pedestrian and bicycle traffic was permitted on the bridge during repairs.

The latest inspection could cause minor delays to motorists, Clarke said, in part because the contractors plan to use a piece of equipment called a "bridge snooper" to let inspectors get a close look at the structure's underpinnings. "It's a cherrypicker, basically," he said.

The bridge snooper's vehicle "sits in the right lane and has an arm that reaches over the side," he explained. An inspector on a platform at the arm's end then views the steelwork as the vehicle moves slowly along the bridge. The inspection team also may drill core samples from the bridge deck, Clarke said.

What the inspection reveals early on will determine how long it lasts.

Weight limits - imposed last April when the bridge was reopened - will remain in effect until any long-term major repairs can be done, Clarke said. Single-unit vehicles are limited to 22 tons, while tractor-trailer rigs may weigh no more than 29 tons.

April's emergency repairs fixed only the worst of deteriorated bridge trusses, Clarke said, adding "it's a matter of time" before the others reach the same point.

"Obviously at some point, [the bridge] will have to be replaced or repaired so extensively that it will be like replacing it," he said. The latest inspection should determine just when that will be.

by CNB