WASHINGTON — Emergency inspections of 69 Maryland bridges reveal two dozen need work to remove concrete of questionable stability.
Maryland’s acting Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn ordered the inspections after a piece of concrete fell from an Interstate 495/I-95 bridge onto a car driving underneath it on Suitland Road in Morningside, Maryland, last Tuesday. The car was damaged. The driver was not hurt.
Over the weekend State Highway Administration crews worked to remove loose concrete from bridges in five locations.
In Prince George’s County:
- I-495 over Md. 4, both bridges
- I-495 over Md. 414, both bridges
- I-495 over Suitland Parkway, both bridges.
In Frederick County:
- I-270 over Md. 85.
In Queen Anne’s County:
- U.S. 301 over Md. 290.
Concrete removal is recommended for the following bridges:
- I-695 over Md. 170
- 1-83 northbound ramp over Padonia Road
- I-270 northbound over Md. 85
- I-270 southbound over Md. 85
- I-70 over Alt. 40
- U.S. 1 over Race Track Road
- Md. 290 over Md. 301
- Md. 195 over Sligo Creek Parkway/Sligo Creek
- I-495 over Md. 185
- I-495 over Kensington
- I-95 over Md. 450
- Darcy Road over I-95
- I-95 over Md. 4
- I-95 Inner Loop over Suitland Parkway
- I-95 Outer Loop over Suitland Parkway
- I-95 Outer Loop over Suitland Road
- I-95 over Md. 5
- I-95/495 Inner Loop over Md. 414
- U.S. 301 northbound over Md. 290.
In the coming weeks, SHA crews will continue to work on 17 bridges to remove and patch concrete and/or add additional wooden planking below bridge decks. Those bridges already had been under review for rehabilitation or replacement, SHA says in a news release.
In a Feb. 12 news release announcing the ordered inspections, the agency noted that bridges deemed “structurally deficient” by federal guidelines are inspected every year, as opposed to every two years for all other bridges.
“Maryland has an aggressive inspection program that has resulted in one of the lowest number of structurally deficient bridges in the country,” the release says.
