Six months after bridge inspections found a structural crack on the I-40 bridge, the question now is how will bridge inspections in Arkansas change moving forward?
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Dave Parker, said the process for making changes is already underway.
“We are implementing immediately 10 different changes or enhancements to our bridge inspection program to strengthen and improve it,” Parker said.
He added that the Heavy Bridge Maintenance Section, an area in the department that oversees the maintenance of some of Arkansas’ largest bridges, is under new management.
Now, inspections won’t be allowed to happen by the same person two years in a row.
He said they are also working to add personnel and reorganize the program.
Having more eyes on inspected bridges could prevent cracks and damages from going undiscovered.
These changes come after an ARDOT Bridge Inspection Program Assessment Final Report was released by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
USDOT recommends 18 improvements that ARDOT should make when inspecting bridges.
The report also includes 18 things that ARDOT is doing right, commending the agency’s staff and intent to make changes.
In the 106-page report, the Federal Highway Administration (FWA) recommends a registered professional engineer be on site for complex and major bridges.
The FWA also said “ARDOT criteria inappropriately exclude bridges with substructure members located in the Mississippi River such as I-55 over the Mississippi River and I-40 over Mississippi River, and the Red River.”
It was also said “1,269 weight posted bridges have a routine inspection interval of 24 months, and according to ARDOT procedures it should be 12 months.”
What that means is the state needs to update its inspection schedule for those bridges across the state.
The report points out that the bridges should be checked every year and not every two years.
It’s a lot of work still ahead for the agency, but Parker said they’re getting help.
“We have an independent consultant, Michael Baker International for example, who will do an inspection in the off years. They did the inspection this year and they’re the ones who discovered the the fracture, and that’s what led us to this point,” Parker said.
He is hoping that the thousands of Arkansans that use the state’s bridges every day will feel safer knowing that changes are being made.
“We want people to understand that, number one, safety and efficiency always come through and this is what this should indicate to them,” Parker said.
Read More: U.S. Department of Transportation calls for ARDOT changes