NEW RIVER GORGE BRIDGE INSPECTION

This is an awesome bridge!  Designed by Michael Baker Co. and built in the mid 1970’s, this weathering steel deck arch bridge boasts the longest steel span in the western hemisphere – 1700 feet.  Towering almost 900 feet above the gorge bottom, it ranks as the third highest bridge in the United States.

The bridge is located near Fayetteville, West Virginia and on the third Saturday of every year, the bridge is open for recreation – know as “Bridge Day”.  BASE jumping and rappelling are permitted off the bridge and the top of the deck hosts a large festival with vendors, sight seeing, and spectators.  In 2013, the National Park Service listed the New River Gorge Bridge in the National Register of Historic Places as a significant historic resource.

Burgess & Niple, Inc. was the first company besides Baker to be contracted to inspect the bridge.  I was fortunate enough to be part of the team that inspected it in 2009.  Snooper trucks were used to inspect the floor system truss and rope access (rappelling) was used to gain hands-on access to the spandrel bent columns.  The arch ribs were climbed on the outside as well as on the inside using confined space entry monitoring.  I was a team leader on the bridge and led a team of engineers to inspect the bents.  This included up to 400 foot long rappels!