CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — There are major concerns over how a very busy bridge in Chesapeake is looking these days.
Pictures sent to 10 On Your Side are raising the red flag about whether it’s safe for drivers. We’re talking about the Triple Decker Bridge, where South Military Highway passes over Bainbridge Boulevard.
The city says it’s doing something about it.
10 On Your Side went to the bridge site and asked: how did the bridge condition get the way it did?
The answer is age, but there’s a full court press in place to save the bridge.
With construction sounds all around, Earl Sorey, Chesapeake’s assistant director of public works said, “we are addressing some concrete issues on the bridge … we’ve had some concrete that is starting to crack a little bit and we are cutting that out … we are addressing the steel underneath … we are putting on rust inhibitors on that structural steal and we are making concrete repairs so that is what you are seeing right now.”
The Chesapeake Triple Decker Bridge is on life support, but it is alive.
It’s the crossroads of South Military Highway and Bainbridge Blvd, but when you look at it closely you see repair scars everywhere.
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10 On Your Side asked Sorey to explain why the rebar is exposed on the bridge and how did it get so bad. “Age. The bridge is about 80 years old and that is some of the effects of age on a concrete structure.”
Right above, there’s more exposed rebar. The upper level, which is South Military Highway, has a sufficiency rating of only 32.9 out of 100.
The lower level is the Military Highway off ramp onto Bainbridge Blvd. and its rating is 61.8. Sorey insists the structure is safe, passed an annual inspection two months ago, and is part of VDOT’s State of Good Repair program.
“It’s not like it can’t be driven on. VDOT looks at the age of the structure, they look at the condition, they look at the rating, they look at what can be done to bring those ratings back up, so that is what the $8 million is all about,” Sorey said.
Chesapeake has 90 bridges. The 22nd Street Bridge is a lost cause, and was closed down with a sufficiency rating of only 4 out of 100. It will be rebuilt with $20 million of state and city money.
“It is not a dangerous bridge, and the work we are doing today ensures it is not dangerous for the future as well,” Sorey said in regards to the Triple Decker.
The state’s rehabilitation of the Triple Decker Bridge begins in the spring and will take just over a year.
