Bridge inspection begins

An Alabama State Department of Transportation crew began inspecting the steel truss substructure beneath the deck of O'Neal Bridge on Friday in the wake of Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn.

O'Neal Bridge was inspected just over a year ago, but Gov. Bob Riley ordered its inspection and inspections at two other Alabama bridges because they are similar in design to the

bridge that collapsed Wednesday in Minnesota.

"We don't expect to find anything," said DOT Division 2 Maintenance Engineer Mark Dale.

He said the inspection will be similar to the one conducted in June, except engineers will not be inspecting the bridge piers or superstructure.

George Connor, a maintenance engineer with the DOT in Montgomery, said the last inspection of O'Neal Bridge indicated that the bridge was functionally obsolete, but not structurally deficient.

Functionally obsolete means the bridge would not meet standards for items such as lane widths and shoulders, Dale said. For example, the new Shoal Creek bridge has 8-by-10 shoulders. O'Neal Bridge has no shoulders.

Dale said it does not mean the bridge is unsafe.

Friday morning about 8:30, one of the northbound lanes of O'Neal Bridge was closed and a "snooper" truck drove onto the bridge. The truck resembles a bucket truck or "cherry picker" and has an arm that extends out and below the bridge's deck, allowing engineers to inspect the bridge.

Dale said they will be closely inspecting the steel bridge members that form the truss supporting the bridge deck to see if there is anything out of the ordinary.

"They will be looking at connections," Dale said. "They will look to make sure nothing looks bent."

Dale said he talked to an inspector who said he wasn't seeing anything different from what they saw a year ago.

Dale said the bridge's truss members are connected to one another with plates and rivets, rather than welds, which reduces stress.

Dale said the inspectors will also take photographs of different sections of the bridge to have on file. If something of interest is found, the photos can be sent to the DOT in Montgomery.

O'Neal Bridge was built in 1939, but many bridges in the area have been replaced, such as Shoal Creek bridge, First Creek bridge on U.S. 72, the Bear Creek bridge on U.S. 72. The Patton Island bridge was completed in 2002.

After news of the collapse spread, Shoals residents began calling the DOT office in Muscle Shoals asking if the bridges were safe. Dale said he assured the callers that they were.

Shoals residents expressed differing opinions about the Minnesota bridge collapse.

"It was just a freak thing," said Florence resident Louis Johnson, who was buying gasoline at Kangaroo convenience store in Sheffield and had just crossed O'Neal Bridge.

Ashley Jones, who was getting ready to cross the bridge into Florence, said the Minnesota bridge collapse made her realize that it could happen here just as well.

"It puts it in the back of your mind," she said. "You never think it could happen in your area, but it could."

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@timesdaily.com