How Safe Are Bridges in Randolph County?
US Hwy 64/49 bridge over US I-73/74 in Asheboro, NC [Scott Pelkey | North State Journal]
ASHEBORO N.C. - We drive over them every day without a second thought, but last year one reader contacted us to ask just how safe are bridges in Randolph County?
Randolph County is the 11th largest county in North Carolina, containing interstates, country roads, forests, lakes, rivers, and creeks. Zigzagging across the county’s 790 square miles are 266 bridges, all maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NC DOT).
NC DOT is responsible for inspecting and taking care of about 18,000 bridge structures state-wide, including 13,500 bridges and 4,500 culverts and pipes that are twenty feet or longer, which means they fit the federal definition of a bridge.
About 9,00...