ANSONVILLE – The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $1.2 million contract to National Bridge Builders LLC of Kernersville to replace the bridge on Pinkston-River Road over Browns Creek, south of Ansonville.
The bridge was closed last summer due to safety concerns. Built in 1959, the bridge is considered structurally deficient, which means speed or weight limits must be put on the bridge to ensure safety.
The current weight limit on the bridge is seven tons for single-axle vehicles, and three tons for tractor-trailers. When the structure was inspected last year, an initial recommendation was made to reduce the weight limit to three tons for a single-axle vehicle. Although only about 110 vehicles used it each day, heavier vehicles such as logging trucks and farm equipment also used it..
After additional review by NCDOT’s Division 10 staff and Structures Management staff in Raleigh, engineers recommended closing the bridge until it could be scheduled for replacement.
The contract has a floating availability date between this September and March 2019. Once work gets underway, the contractor will have 210 days to complete the project. Vegetation and reforestation work can continue after the bridge opens to traffic.
This was one of 18 road, rail and bridge contracts recently awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation. Per state law they went to the lowest qualified bidder for each project. The contracts are worth $144.4 million.
Contact: Jen Thompson
jenthompson@ncdot.gov
(980) 523-0000