ALDOT beefs up bridge supports
Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 4, 2003
If you’ve driven over the Pigeon Creek bridges on Highway 10 East, you’ve probably wondered what’s going on.
The Alabama Department of Transportation’s (ALDOT) Maintenance Department is performing maintenance on the bridge.
&uot;We have brought in dirt and put in additional riprap where erosion has occurred under the bridge,&uot; said project foreman Keith Roy, who is employed by Winston Contracting.
He said they placed riprap on the site previously, but that the erosion had gotten so bad that dirt fill and a significant amount of additional riprap was needed.
ALDOT’s Leigh McCraney said they replaced worn concrete encasements around the bridge pilings.
&uot;Divers from Commercial Dive Service of Mobile went down and checked the pilings and cleaned them,&uot; she said. &uot;Then they poured new casements to reinforce the pilings.&uot;
ALDOT’s Sixth Division, Fourth District Manager John Adams said the work was requested after the erosion was noted by the transportation department’s maintenance crews who checked the bridges after the recent excessive rainfall the state received.
&uot;The Pigeon Creek bridges are perfectly safe; there are no structural problems with the bridge at all,&uot; Adams said. &uot;The bridge was built in 1995, so it’s still considered a new bridge. The work being done on them is normal maintenance work.&uot;
Roy said his crew has worked on the project for about three weeks, and hopes to have the job wrapped up by the middle of the month.