TRAFFIC ALERT

NEW DATES: Diagnostic Load Testing Will Require Nighttime Intermittent Bridge Closure at Charles W. Cullen Bridge/Indian River Inlet

South Bethany -- The Delaware Department of Transportation in conjunction with the University of Delaware will have intermittent bridge closures for 15 minute intervals beginning at 10 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 and ending at 3 a.m. on Friday, May 2, for diagnostic load testing. Right lane closures approaching the bridge will occur in both the northbound and southbound lanes on Route 1.

At all times, emergency response vehicles will have access.

Diagnostic load testing involves driving pre-weighed trucks across a bridge, and measurements are recorded as the test vehicle is driven across the bridge. From the data collected during the diagnostic test, a number of significant properties that affect the bridge's actual load-carrying capacity can be determined. By gathering enough response data, a more accurate structural model of the bridge can be created and used in the final bridge rating. In Delaware, bridges are rated using the Bridge Rating and Analysis of Structural Systems (BRASS) program.