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Tennessee bridges deemed OK

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KNOXVILLE (AP) ‘ A preliminary inspection has found no immediate safety concerns with five Tennessee bridges that were built with a similar design as the Minnesota bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River.

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely ordered inspections of the deck truss structures after the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed Aug. 1, killing at least five and injuring 100.

TDOT bridge inspection teams converged on the five bridges in Jefferson, Knox, Sullivan, Carter and DeKalb counties to examine cross beams and photograph points of interest, such as rusting spots. The data was then compared to results of the last inspections.

‘Right now, the indication is there is no change,’ Ed Wasserman, TDOT’s director of the structures division, said Wednesday.

Wasserman said all the inspection findings were sent to TDOT’s Nashville offices for further review. That could take three or four days.

Although the five deck truss bridges are over waterways, Wasserman said it was unnecessary to contract divers to check below the waterline because the bridges are mounted on bedrock.

TDOT inspects all the state’s 19,519 bridges every two years.

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