ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 13, 1996 TAG: 9608130072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: The Memorial Bridge over the New River in Radford has had a weight limit since it was closed for repairs for two weeks in 1994. Now they've put a double row of concrete barriers down its middle, and that concrete looks heavier than any of the traffic.
Why did they do this?
J.D., Pulaski
A: The concrete's weight doesn't add up to much compared with vehicles, say engineers for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The concrete is dead weight; it doesn't move. Vibrations from moving loads put the real stress on bridges.
The reason for those concrete dividers on the 47-year-old Memorial Bridge is interesting. But first, the engineers want to say right here: The bridge is safe for traffic.
Inspectors found last spring that the center of the bridge has deteriorated a bit. The dividers force traffic to the outside edges, where the bridge is stronger.
About 27,000 vehicles a day cross the bridge between Radford and the busy Fairlawn area of Pulaski County.
The weight limit is 22 tons for single-unit vehicles and 29 tons for tractor-trailers.
Engineers insist there's no reason to get antsy about the bridge. They're inspecting it twice a year.
They've also spent $100,000 on studies of its future.
The options being considered by Radford, Pulaski County and VDOT: replacing the bridge at an estimated cost of $11.6million, with a 75-year life expectancy; replacing the superstructure and not the piers, $10.3million and 50-year life; and rehabilitation that would cost $7.5million and yield a 25-year life expectancy.
Who paid for light?
Q: Residents on Kirkwood Drive in Southwest Roanoke County have only two exits from their neighborhood this summer because a bridge is closed for repairs on Cresthill Drive. Kirkwood residents may reach Virginia 419 at two points, one via Colonnade Drive and one via McVitty Road. Colonnade Drive, which has a stoplight, is reached by crossing the Colonnade property's parking lot and they've put up a sign that says ``Private. No Through Traffic.'' The McVitty intersection with 419 has no traffic light, and using it is nearly impossible. My question is, did Colonnade pay for the stoplight that I can't use, or did my tax dollars pay for it?
J.T., Roanoke
A: Colonnade's corporate developers paid about half the cost of the traffic light. Our gasoline taxes and license fees paid the remainder.
The sign is on private property and it's within the owners' rights to limit access to the property, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
When private interests develop a property that will increase traffic to the point where a light is needed, developers often pay a share of the cost, VDOT said.
These probably aren't the answers you hoped to receive, but VDOT said the bridge project on Cresthill is on schedule for completion this fall.
When the bridge reopens, people in the neighborhood can leave home by Brambleton Avenue.
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RayR@Roanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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