Inspections Completed on Maine’s Deck Truss Bridges
By admin - Posted on August 12th, 2007
August 10, 2007 -- AUGUSTA – Maine Governor John E. Baldacci inspected the Augusta Memorial Bridge today with engineers from the Maine Department of Transportation.
The Augusta Memorial Bridge is one of six “deck truss” bridges in Maine, which are of the same structural type as the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis last week. One of these six bridges runs between Maine and New Hampshire, carrying the Route 1 Bypass.
All six bridges have now been re-inspected.
“These bridges are safe,” Governor Baldacci said after speaking with John Buxton, MaineDOT’s lead bridge maintenance engineer, and Scott Harris, the State’s lead bridge inspector. “I wanted to see firsthand what it is the engineers look for and better understand the job that they do. They’ve done a great job reacting to a terrible tragedy and making sure our bridges are safe.”
A rehabilitation project was completed on the Augusta Memorial Bridge last year, and Buxton said that it is in good condition. He also said that there were no unexpected findings during the inspections conducted on the other bridges in Maine. MaineDOT plans to replace the Back River Bridge in Arrowsic in 2008, and will continue to monitor the condition of these and all of Maine’s bridges as part of the department’s ongoing bridge inspection program.
“Things were as good as we would expect,” Buxton said. “I want to stress that all of these bridges are safe.”
“We’re lucky that we have the expertise of such well-qualified engineers,” Governor Baldacci said. “I recognize how difficult this job is, and I wanted to go out with them.”
On Aug. 2, Governor Baldacci signed an executive order directing MaineDOT to review its bridge inspection program to assure it continues to meet or exceed all applicable federal standards.
“We’ve looked at the bridges to make sure their safe,” Governor Baldacci said. “Now we’re going to inspect the inspection program and make sure it’s as effective as possible.”
MaineDOT is to report back findings from the review as soon as they become available and no later than 90 days from the date of the executive order.
Source: Maine Governor
Bookmark/Search this post with:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Related articles
- Maine Governor Introduces Legislation to Invest $160 million in Bridges
- Alabama Governor Riley, Public Safety Announce ‘Take Back Our Highways’ Campaign
- New National Poll Shows Americans Dislike Larger, Heavier Trucks on U.S. Highways
- New York Governor Spitzer Announces Nearly $25 Million In Highway Safety Grants
- Maine’s Heavy Truck Proposal Puts Motorists, Bridges at Risk
Latest stories
- Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama for President: Video from this morning's appearance on Meet the Press
- Keating Economics
- Pelosi: The Legislation Has Failed But the Crisis Has Not Gone Away; We Must Work in a Bipartisan Way to Pass New Legislation
- Congressman Hoyer Statement Following Vote on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act
- Senator McCaskill Calls for Greater Accountability on Wall Street
- Senator Bob Casey Statement on Bailout Bill
- Senator Hillary Clinton Calls for Bipartisan Action on Economic Crisis
- Congress Passes Obama, Murkowski, Allen Bill to Ban Dangerous Mercury Exports
- Barack Obama Statement on Financial Plan Breakthrough
- Barack Obama Calls on VA Secretary to Provide Critical Data on Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans to Improve Veterans Services
Yes We Can
Yes We Can:
