ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 9, 1996 TAG: 9610090028
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: FAIRLAWN
SOURCE: LESLIE HAGER-SMITH STAFF WRITER
Memorial Bridge - the vital link between Radford and Pulaski County - will be replaced by early in the next decade, a state official said Tuesday.
Two years ago the 50-year-old bridge was closed for nearly a month of repairs after tests indicated deterioration within its supports. In March, the state released a study that put price tags ranging from $11.6 million for a complete replacement that would last 75 years to $7.5 million for repairs to last 25 years.
Highway planners have chosen the full-replacement option, and could begin a three-year design process on the new bridge by 1999, said Dan Brugh, the Virginia Department of Transportation's resident engineer in Christiansburg.
Brugh updated the Radford business community on the health of Memorial Bridge - one of the region's major transportation links - and other road projects Tuesday at a Radford Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Carilion St. Albans Hospital's new conference center. The April 1994 closure of Memorial Bridge vexed city merchants and commuters alike, drying up business for the former and requiring long roundabout drives for the latter.
Today though, Memorial Bridge is sound and has at least seven to 10 years of life left without major repairs, Brugh said. Though it is not in imminent danger of collapse, the bridge will continue to deteriorate at a gradual rate, he said.
Earlier this year, VDOT added concrete barriers down the center of the bridge to force traffic to the outside edge, where the bridge is stronger. The span carries 18,000 vehicles a day, according to a 1994 traffic count. After the '94 closure, the state implemented weight restrictions of 22 tons for single-unit vehicles and 29 tons for tractor-trailers.
So far, the state has committed $1 million to design the bridge starting in 1999. There is no money set aside for construction, which should take two years, Brugh said.
Aside from the $11.6 million estimate from the report released in March, planners won't have a more precise figure until they resolve where it will be located. The location could influence the length of the new span and therefore its cost, Brugh said.
"We don't know an exact location where it's going to go," Brugh said. "it's basically going to be somewhere in [the area of the existing bridge]. It may not be a perpendicular crossing."
There is a possibility preliminary engineering could begin sooner than early 1999, Brugh said. The process would begin with a VDOT location hearing to solicit community input on an exact site for the new bridge. Development in the Fairlawn area has occurred based on the location of U.S. 11, said Brugh, and there is no reason to divert traffic or development away from the existing bridge corridor.
Memorial Bridge will remain open until its replacement is open to traffic. Thereafter, plans are to raze the older structure, Brugh said.
VDOT recently concluded its semiannual inspection of Memorial Bridge, including both ultrasound and X-ray tests. Engineers focused especially on the 9-inch thick steel pins and hangers that support the structure.
That testing is what stirred a recent round of rumors and telephone calls about the bridge, Brugh said.
On the evening of Sept. 12, a single lane of bridge traffic was closed. Pedestrians were denied access and visitors to Bisset Park, which stretches below the bridge, were also turned away. Worried callers wanted to know if the bridge was again unsafe or about to be closed. Brugh recalls that it was the early-morning walkers and joggers along the riverside who were especially put out.
"X-raying through nine inches of steel meant very potent levels of radiation," Brugh said. "Working at night was simply the best, safest option." The X-ray test was conducted by a California firm.
The tests indicated no problems with the pins, he said.
It was an April 1994 ultrasound test, in use for the first time, that brought traffic to a screeching halt at rush hour. The ultrasound test distinguishes between solid steel and unstable rust scale, a distinction that is impossible to make visually
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Gene Dalton. The 50-year-old Memorial Bridge, shown inby CNBthis 1994 photograph, will stay open until a replacement bridge is
built by early in the next decade. After that, the old span between
Radford and Fairlawn will be demolished. color.