Three Burke bridges remain closed in wake of Helene

The bridges of Burke County are open for business — with three exceptions.

North Carolina’s Department of Transportation said Tuesday only three of the county’s public bridges are still closed due to damage inflicted by Hurricane Helene, which ripped through western North Carolina on Sept. 27 and caused major damage in Burke and counties west of here.

An area of N.C. 126 near Benfield Landing is closed because of structural damage to a bridge.

In addition, Rose Carswell Road near U.S. 64 is closed because of damage to a bridge that spans Double Creek. Clark Loop, also in the area of Double Creek, is shut down because of a pipe failure.

Crews are working on all three sections, but no timetable for completion of the work is available.

This much is certain, however: DOT has deployed a mountain of equipment and an army of workers to shore up bridges all across the area.

Spokesman David Uchiyama said more than 2,000 workers are responding to the crisis in WNC. The DOT has brought more than 900 pieces of heavy equipment, including dump trucks, backhoes, loaders, and graders, into affected areas.

It’s all part of the department’s emergency protocol, Uchiyama explained.

Under normal conditions, all bridges are inspected at least every two years following National Bridge Inspection standards. If inspectors detect safety or structural concerns, the DOT takes immediate action, making repairs, posting a weight limit, or even closing the bridge, depending on the severity of the issues.

When disasters like Helene strike, the DOT ramps up its efforts.

“During and immediately after the storm, a mix of personnel checks on the safety of roads and bridges based on alerts from storm data tools, TIMS (Traffic and Incident Management Systems) reports, and local alerts,” Uchiyama said. “These checks are mostly to see if the bridge has overtopped, if the approach looks sound, and no obvious damage is at the bridge that would endanger the public.”

Uchiyama said once the flooding is beyond its peak, the department begins a round of high-water supplemental inspections.

“These document a general picture of the structure, show photos of damage to the structure caused by the storm including impacts from debris, blocked waterways, washed out approach, scour, etc.,” he said. “There is also a streambed sounding (measuring the depth and composition of a stream or riverbed to assess the subsurface conditions) as long as the conditions allow it to be measured, which shows how the streambed has changed over the years. These inspections are performed by a mix of NCDOT and PEF (private engineering firm) bridge inspectors.”

If inspectors find significant defects that may put the bridge at higher risk in the future, the DOT may shorten the intervals between inspections or plan supplemental inspections for the near future.

Uchiyama added the department is developing a recovery program in order to deal with the long-term effects of storm damage.

Privately owned bridges are outside the purview of the DOT.

When events like Helene occur, work on other bridge projects may slow down or stop for a time. That means progress may be temporarily interrupted on local projects like the bridge construction on the U.S. 64/70 Bypass near the Morganton Heights Shopping Center.

But the slowdown likely won’t last long, Uchiyama said, adding work should resume in the next few weeks.

“NCDOT contractors who were working on projects prior to the storm, suspended construction activities to help with immediate recovery and repair,” he said. “It’s critical that we provide access to all residents and make temporary repairs to provide at least emergency access.”

In the meantime, the DOT urges motorists to drive with caution and obey all traffic signs.