2 Brief Description of the incident
2.1
Catastrophic Bridge Collapse
On the 20th of Februray 2020, the Lowe’s Motor Speedway owned bridge
collapsed over Route 29 highway. About 107 people were injured and were taken
to hospital.
2.2
Suspected Cause Of The Incident
Corrosion was found on the pre-stressing strands. There were 1 metre deep
longitudinal cracks on the sections of the bridge that did not crumble.
A high amount of Calcium Chloride was found in the grout at the site.
3 Comparisons With The Neighbouring Bridge
3.1
Size Comparison
The collapsed bridge had 8 pre-stressed double T-beams spanning between
reinforced concrete piers and abutments. The neighbouring bridge has 12 prestressed double T-beams. The neighbouring bridge is 7.2 m wide, which is wider
than the collapsed bridge which was 4.8 m wide. Both brideges are 25m long
span bridges.
3.2
Construction Details
The collapsed bridge was constructed in 2015 and the neighbouring bridge was
constructed in 2016. Both bridges were constructed were constructed by Tindal
Corporation under the same contract.
4 The Various Parties Involved
The bridge was privately owned by Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Tindal Corporation
built the bridge for Lowe’s. The North Carolina Department of Transport
checked the height of the bridge. Lowe’s Motor Speedway was responsible for the
maintainance and any inspection of the bridge. The North Carolina Department
of Transport inspected the bridge only once, when it was opened. The
Department was not responsible for any periodical maintaince or inspection of
the bridge. The North Carolina Department of Transport is was only making
sure that a proper investigation was carried out.