Nevada finishes post-earthquake bridge inspections, finds them safe

Staff from the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) said on Monday that they concluded their bridge inspections after an earthquake that occurred recently in Caliente, Nevada, and found no bridges that were unfit for travel.

The staff spent 160 hours inspecting the bridges located within a 50-mile radius of the earthquake’s epicenter. The earthquake measured at least a 5.0 magnitude.

Two teams of engineers were responsible for 55 bridges within Clark and Lincoln Counties. They covered Pahrump, Caliente, Overton, Bunkerville, Alamo, Mesquite, Rose Valley and Pioche. They focused on finding misaligned bridge parts, quake-related de-laminations, displacement, settlement and other issues.

The State of Nevada currently has the best-rated bridges in the U.S., with the fewest amount of structural deficiencies, a report from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) said in January.

“Engineers thoroughly examined all state bridges within a 50-mile radius of the quake epicenter, looking for any deformities,” Tony Illia, an NDOT spokesman, said. “Happily, every bridge inspected was found to be structurally sound and safe for public travel.

“NDOT inspects 1,900 bridges statewide a minimum of every two years, including most city and county-maintained structures,” Illia said. “Deteriorating bridges are inspected more frequently. State bridges are carefully engineered to withstand rigorous wind and earthquake loading.”