Alabama Department of Transportation crews responded Monday afternoon following reports of a southbound vehicle striking the underside of the bridge on Upper River Road over I-65 in Priceville.
The bridge engineer’s initial inspection found damage to the concrete on all six bridge girders – the long, horizontal beams that support the bridge deck. However, in all but one girder the steel rebar appeared intact.
The most heavily-damaged girder, the outside girder on the north side of the bridge, supports the westbound shoulder of the bridge and is not in the load path for the travel lanes. As a result, ALDOT closed the westbound shoulder of Upper River Road.
Crews removed all loose concrete from the underside of the bridge and cut off protruding rebar, making I-65 southbound safe for travel and clearing the roadway before 8 p.m.
ALDOT’s Emergency Bridge Inspection Team will perform further assessments later this week to determine the scope of the repair needed. ALDOT anticipates contracting for the repair.
