Indian River Inlet Bridge Monitoring Devices Installed

One Lane and Shoulder Closure Needed

Indian River -- The Department of Transportation (DelDOT) will be performing maintenance work and installing various devices to monitor the condition of the existing Indian River Inlet Bridge next week, Monday June 1 through Thursday, June 4, 2009. The work will require the right lane and shoulder of Route 1 northbound in the vicinity of the Indian River Inlet Bridge to be closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Therefore, only one lane of traffic will be available going northbound on Route 1 over the bridge.

The monitoring devices were installed in cooperation with research performed by the University of Delaware and are just one of many efforts being made to ensure the existing Indian River Inlet Bridge remains stable while the new bridge is built. Additional efforts include:
1. Visual Structure Inspections: As part of the monitoring program, DelDOT performs annual bridge inspections of the structure. The next inspection is scheduled for August 2009.
2. Underwater Dive Inspections: Also part of the program, DelDOT performs annual underwater dive inspections. The next inspection is scheduled for the October 2009.
3. Bathymetric Surveys: DelDOT continues to conduct annual bathymetric/fathometer surveys to examine the streambed area around and between the piers until the new bridge is complete. A fathometer study was recently conducted in April. The study indicated that there have not been any significant changes over the last year. This routine survey will be completed again in spring 2010. Additional surveys are conducted after severe storm events. In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers has provided DelDOT with their periodic bathymetric surveys, the most recent from 2007. The technology has improved over the years allowing the viewer to essentially see an underwater picture of the site. These renderings are posted on www.irib.deldot.gov.
4. Land Survey Equipment: Land survey equipment is used to monitor movement on the existing bridge on a regular basis (monthly). These readings have indicated little to no movement of the bridge. Any movement indicated is a result of normal expansion and contraction due to temperature effects.