MORGANTON, NC (WBTV) -
For months, local grading companies, concrete firms and more have been asking the North Carolina Department of Transportation to repair or replace a bridge that leads to a rock quarry that they all need to get to.
"The bridge is in terrible shape," said one trucker as he was preparing to drive over it on Wednesday. The 140 foot bridge crosses a wide stream on the way to the Vulcan Materials Rock Quarry and the MayMead Asphalt Plant.
The side rails are coming apart, with nail heads protruding in spots and some boards falling down. The road surface is covered in cracks and several large potholes have developed. At least two of the holes are six inches deep with the beams used as the road bed exposed.
"It is tearing up our trucks," said American Concrete's Gary Stroupe. Stroupe says repairs to his trucks are getting expensive. "They can't keep alignment going over that bridge and that makes our tires wear out and they cost $900 apiece for the front tires."
On Tuesday one of his trucks broke a pin for a front spring and that jammed a tire against a fender that promptly broke off.
The Department of Transportation has looked at the bridge and while there are issues with it Tim Anderson said Wednesday "The structure of the bridge is okay." However, Anderson does admit that work is needed to maintain the bridge and make it passable for vehicles.
There is no money and no plans for a new bridge to be built but after being called by WBTV Anderson said highway crews will be out there in the coming days to patch the holes in the road bed and at least bring some improvement for the truckers.
Anderson said local DOT officials will consult with higher ups in Raleigh to determine what more can be done. He expects that a resurfacing of the entire bridge and extensive repairs to the side rails may be in order.
To do that, the bridge would have to be shut down for a few days, possibly a week. The state will consult with the Rock Quarry and the asphalt plant to determine when the best time for that would be.
Stroupe hopes something will be done soon. "We gotta have that bridge," he said.
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