Aug 3, 2007 8:25 pm US/Eastern
Mass. Inspectors Begin Looking At Bridge Records
by Peg Rusconi
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Across the country, inspectors are fanning out to check bridges that are similar to the one that collapsed in Minnesota.
So what is being done in Massachusetts to keep drivers safe?
Officials now know exactly how many bridges we need to inspect, but before inspectors begin physically checking the 24-bridges, engineers will pore over their previous inspection records.
Each record includes 50-60 pages of technical data.
"It's good practice anyway to double check on the inspections, make sure nothing was missed. Then you can follow up with actual hands on inspections," said Mass. Highway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky.
State highway officials outlined their inspection plan a day after the U.S. transportation secretary ordered states to immediately inspect all bridges of the same design as the bridge that collapsed Wednesday in Minneapolis.
They include the Farwell Street Bridge in Waltham, which is rusting underneath but structurally sound, the University Avenue Bridge in Lowell and eight other bridges are known to be structurally deficient but not in imminent danger. "As of right now, I'm pleased to report we've found nothing in the records that would be of any concern to our inspectors," said Highway Safety Inspector Tom Broderick.
As a matter of routine, all of the state's bridges, including this one on Sargent Street in Revere, are inspected every two years. An inspector first examined the surface structure, then its underside -- looking for cracks and signs of fatigue.
"These inspections are really as a precaution. Don't know what caused the collapse in Minnesota or whether the design itself was a feature," said Paiewonsky.
Engineers began on Friday by digging into those dense inspection records. They'll continue that work over the weekend and then on Monday, officials say, the hands-on inspections of those bridges will begin as a precaution.
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