By Karen Middleton
karen@athensnews-courier.com
October 04, 2008 01:24 am
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Frequent travelers on Alabama 127 will find northbound lanes of Maples Bridge in good repair, but the Alabama Department of Transportation has put off repairing the southbound lanes until spring.
Johnny Harris, chief engineer of the ALDOT Northern Division office in Guntersville said, “We are overlaying the asphalt to protect the deck for winter and then when the weather improves we will replace the total deck in the spring.”
Traffic had been down to one lane over Maples Bridge for several months. The bridge is between Elkmont and the Tennessee state line.
ALDOT began work on the bridge when it was discovered that de-lamination was occurring where the upper part of the concrete was not attached and potholes were forming.
The corrosion of the concrete in areas was caused from the use of calcium chloride in icy conditions. It was used about 20 years ago before the more modern, less corrosive mixtures crews use today. Engineers had determined that the substructure of the bridge is in good condition and besides the potholes, there were no other hazards.
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