Some steel beams need to be manufactured and precisely fitted.
Frederick, Md (KM). It could be a while before the Route 355 bridge over the Monocacy River reopens to traffic. That span sustained damage after one of its overhead beams was hit by a trash truck.
“There are steel beams on that bridge that need to removed. Being as this bridge was built in 1930, those beams are not laying around somewhere where you can pick up and substitute them in there. These things have to be fabricated, and measured very closely, installed and then inspected before we let traffic on that bridge again. So that could go up to 60-days from now,” says Charlie Gischlar, spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration.
He also says SHA is working with two contractors on this bridge: one to manufacture the beams, and a second to install them.
Meanwhile, traffic is being detoured to I-270. “It’s about 12,000 vehicles a day that use the 355 bridge. Of course, Interstate 270 has a lot more than that. But it’s an interstate. It’s a little faster moving. It shouldn’t put too much commute time into your daily grind,” says Gischlar.
He says SHA is working hard to get this span reopened. “We’re in the holiday season. That bridge connects a lot of places that have shopping centers. It’s going to be busy. We’re trying to expedite this repair as quickly as best we can. But we got to maintain safety and make sure do it right. Right now, the best thing we can do is up to 60-days but hoping for better than that,” says Gischlar.
By Kevin McManus
(Photo From SHA)