Damaged Montevideo Road bridge repaired, road reopened to traffic

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Montevideo Road bridge damage before Highway Services crews made major repairs

MCDOT’s Highway Division crews are visible immediately when we have a major storm.  They quickly begin clearing away tree debris and clearing downed limbs from the road.  But there are often less obvious tasks that require their attention for days or weeks following a storm.

An example of this was the recent damage to the historic bridge over Dry Seneca Creek on Montevideo Road in the western portion of the county.  The bridge was severely damaged last August during flooding caused by Hurricane Irene.  Montevideo is classified as a rustic road, so the road and bridge must retain their historic character.

The Division of Transportation Engineering assessed the damage and developed a strategy to repair the bridge; then a Highway crew that specializes in bridge maintenance set to work rebuilding and restoring the bridge.  The work involved rebuilding natural stone wing walls leading up to the bridge, stabilizing the abutments through a process of pressure injecting grout into the backside of the natural stone abutment walls to seal the joints in the old stone abutment, rebuilding the road embankment, resetting the guard rails, and resurfacing the approaches to the bridge.  The Highway crew used native stone, scattered about in the location of the bridge, in the reconstruction of the bridge to maintain its historic character.

Taking only 6-weeks to complete repairs, the road was reopened to traffic late in October.  For more information about Highway Services’ many maintenance operations, visit their website.

Release ID: 11-146
Media Contact: Tom Pogue 240-777-7155