Repair Needs Carry Local Bridges Onto AAA 'Worst' List

RALEIGH, N.C. — AAA Carolinas said Wednesday that five of the worst bridges in North Carolina are in the Triangle. Two are in Wake County, two in Cumberland County and one in Durham County.

For the sixth year in a row, the Interstate 40 Business bridge in Forsyth County that passes over NC 4315 ranked as the state’s worst substandard bridge. AAA said the 52-year-old bridge, which carries 476,000 vehicles a week, is scheduled to be replaced in 2013.

In Wake County, the Pullen Road bridge made the list that the travel organization issues annually. No repairs are planned there.

The other Wake bridge is a repeat offender and made the list as No. 2 in the state: the Interstate 440 bridge over Hillsborough Street. It has made the list several years in a row. The state Department of Transportation has work planned as part of a widening project, but that is not scheduled yet.

The NC 24/87/210 bridge over the CSX Railroad and Hillsboro Street in Cumberland County is No. 3 in the state, according to AAA. It’s 51 years old and carries 287,000 vehicles a week. Repairs are on the state’s list for 2011.

The NC 24bridge over Cross Creek in Cumberland made the list at No. 10. That bridge is to be replaced in 2010.

No. 16 was the bridge that carries U.S. 15-501 northbound over New Hope Creek in Durham County. No work is scheduled there.

The bridges don't present a danger, AAA noted, they just need work.

The organization said that the state is doing a better job than in the past of keeping up bridges. The state of North Carolina’s bridges appears to be turning a corner. Although the number of bridges the state must monitor and maintain has increased, the number of substandard bridges has declined.