After looking things over, the engineers said they didn't think there was any kind of structural failure. They also thought that, rather than take everything off, we could just replace the wear boards and some of the transverse planks. |
Everyone understands that the Old Steel Bridge is going to be closed at some point. Once it is, there needs to be a safe way for traffic to get onto the highway. |
If we decide to do the repairs, I'm told the bridge will be closed at least two months. Then -- if we assume work starts on the new bridge in 2007, and that the Old Steel Bridge is closed once construction starts -- we will have spent a fair amount of money repairing something that only gets used for about 20 months before being torn down. |