'Wake Up' on Bridges, Sen. Finney Tells TDOT

(Daily Times)

State Sen. Raymond Finney, R-Maryville, is pushing the Tennessee Department of Transportation to post information about the state's bridges on the TDOT Web site.  If that doesn't happen voluntarily, Finney said he will introduce a bill to force it.  In a letter sent Friday to TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely, the senator said the "catastrophic collapse" of an Interstate bridge in Minneapolis "should serve as a wake-up call for all states to inspect and repair aging infrastructure". He pointed a finger at states for not keeping up with bridge maintenance and replacement...

TDOT Releases Details on Bridge Inspection Program

(Bristol Herald - Courier)

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) today held an event to educate the public about the condition of bridges across the state...

More Drivers, Less Money Take Toll on Tenn. Bridges

(Tennessean/Brooks)

One of every five bridges in Tennessee is in need of repair or replacement.  That figure comes as a shaken nation watches the aftermath of the catastrophic Minneapolis bridge collapse...

Structurally Safe?

(Chattanooga Times Free-Press/Sohn)

Nineteen Hamilton County bridges are rated "structurally deficient" by the Federal Highway Administration's National Bridge Inventory database--...

Local Spans Deemed Safe

(Commercial Appeal/Aarons)

Arkansas has task of inspection; bigger fear would be bad drivers...Mid-South transportation officials spent Thursday reassuring the public of the safety of Tennessee and Arkansas bridges...

Bridges in Good Condition, Says Official

(Johnson City Press)

In light of Wednesday's bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Washington County Highway Superintendent Johny Deakins was quick to reassure citizens Thrusday that the county's bridges remain in good, working condition...

Area Bridges Pass Muster

(Leaf Chronicle)

Cunningham Bridge tops McClure in overall ratings...Clarksville drivers can be fairly well assured about the safety of the city's two longest bridges, both of which cross the Cumberland River...

Officials Say Tennessee Bridges are Safe

(WPLN - Radio Nashville)

In the wake of yesterday's/Wednesday's Minnesota bridge collapse, Tennessee officials say the bridges in the state are safe...

Evaluating Tennessee Bridge Safety

(WTVF - TV Nashville)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Department of Transporation officials discussed bridge inspections in the aftermath of Wednesday's collapse of a Minneapolis bridge that spans the Mississippi River.  Four people have been reported dead and 20 people still missing...

Deficient Bridges in The Tri-Cities Region

(WJHL - TV Johnson City)

Transportation departments across the country, indcluding those in Tennessee and Virginia, are taking a closer look at bridge safety today.  The scrutiny comes one day after an interstate bridge collapsed in Minneapolis during rush hour...

Deck Truss Bridge Inspections Conducted

(WTVF - TV Nashville)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Bridges in Tennessee are rated using the same universal sufficiency rating system controlled by the federal governement.  The Minneapolis bridge collapse has prompted other states to look at their own bridges...

In Wake of MN Tragedy, TN Bridges Undergo Inspection

(WKRN - TV Nashville)

Rescue workers continued the daunting task of searching the Mississippi River Friday or victims of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The death toll has risen to five and eight people are now unaccounted for, down from the 30 originally estimated...

Tenn. Inspects Bridges Similar to Minn. Bridge

(WSMV - TV Nashville)

WHITE PINE, Tenn. - Tennessee highway officials said Friday that inspections will be stepped up on an Interstate 40 bridge in Jefferson county already slated for replacement that shares the same deck truss design as the bridge that collapsed this week in Minnesota...

Upgrade on Bridge Inspection Tools Eyed

(Chattanooga Times-Free Press/Sohn)

In the wake of Minnesota's bridge collapse Wednesday that killed at least five and left about 100 missing, some officials and industry workers are expecting change and suggesting the low-tech tools of today's bridge inspection-flashlights and hammers-may change...

5 Bridges Under Review

(Knoxville News Sentinel)

l-40 span has worse rating than Minneapolis structure.  DANDRIDGE - The deck truss bridge carrying 30,000 vehicles a day on Interstate 40 over the French Broad River has a worse structural rating than the span that collapsed in Minneapolis this week...

'Deficient' but Safe: Six County Bridges on State's List 

(Daily News Journal)

Joan Canter, who drives across the Broad Street bridge over Lytle Creek regularly, was surprised and concerned Friday to learn that the bridge is classified as structurally deficient...

Post-Collapse Reviews Shows Some Bridges Rated "Poor" in Tri-Cities

(Her. - Courier)

Four bridges in Bristol Virginia are currently rated "poor" for their structural integrity, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.  The latest data on the city's 49 state-inspected spans show that bridges on Oak Street over Norfolk...had advanced section loss, deterioration and chipping, according to state report...

More Than 160 Bridges in Shelby County are Obsolete or Deficient

(Memphis Flyer)

Using the raw dataset of the National Bridge Inventory, which is compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration from state reports, MSNBC.com is reporting that more than 160 bridges in Shelby County are either obsolete or deficient...

State to Invest $100M in Bridge Programs

(Nashville Business Journal)

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will invest about $100 million in bridge improvements this fiscal year and about $6.5 million in bridge inspections.  TDOT said Thursday night that 2,938 of state's bridges, or 15 percent, are classified as functionally obsolete...

(Chattanooga Times - Free Press/Hightower)

DUNLAP, Tenn. - State Rep. Bill Harmon, D-Dunlap, is a veteran lawmaker, serving on the House Transportation Committee. A shortage of federal dollars has made the committee's job tougher this year, he said, and lawmakers want to find ways to make up that shortfall in the next legislative session...Q: With the bridge collapse in Minnesota, does the Tennessee General Assembly need to look at raising the gas tax for bridge funding?...

Guest Columnist: How to Keep Our Bridges Safe

(WSJ Opinion Journal)

Private investors can manage critical transportation infrastructure.  The tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis is a stark reminder that too much of our transportation infrastructure is not well-maintained and requires extensive, costly investments to be fixed or even, in some cases, completely replaced.  Nearly a fifth of America's roads are now considered in poor shape and about 1 in 4 is rated "structurally deficient." The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that the cost to fix these problems is a staggering $460 billion...

Free Press Editorial: Thousands of Faulty Bridges

(Times - Free Press)

The collapse of a major highway bridge with tragic loss of life is a rare occurrence.  But such things do occur.  And when they do, they get our attention.  There are literally many thousands of highway bridges throughout the United States - nearly 20,000 in Tennessee - that require periodic inspections in efforts to keep them in safe condition...