The Missouri Department of Transportation has finished inspecting its first bridge that uses the same design as the collapsed Minneapolis bridge. It’s fine.
The Hurricane Deck bridge at the Lake of the Ozarks is the first of 14 bridges getting immediate special attention. Three that link Missouri with other states will be inspected by Illinois, Kansas, and Nebraska transportation officials.
MODOT spokesman Jeff Briggs says inspection crews use binoculars for prelminary inspections of the undersides but use special equipment for up-close looks. A "snooper truck" has a special arm and bucket arrangement that lets inspectors check beneath bridges for detailed checks. The inspection crews also make walking inspections of the bridge deck, checking every foot of the paving and athe guardrails.
Missouri’s bridges are inspected every two years. In some cases, these are RE-inspections. Three of the bridges have been checked within the last sevne months. Hurricane Deck was checked just last October, but it became the first priority in the re-inspection program because its structure mostly closely matches the structure that collapsed in Minneapolis.
The department plans to finish inspecting the state’s deck truss bridges within five weeks.