BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) – Bellevue closed the southbound lanes on Fort Crook near Capehart Nov. 13 after an inspection revealed the bridge had fallen 7 inches. The lanes are now closed indefinitely until the city decides whether it's repairable or a replacement is needed.
- After a bi-annual inspection, the city found the bridge had fallen 7 inches
- The southbound lane of the bridge are closed indefinitely until the city decides to repair or replace it
- The northbound lanes are still open, the city said it will be turned into two way traffic soon
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The southbound lanes of this bridge closed last month for safety reasons, now the city said it won’t open anytime soon.
During a bi-annual inspection the City of Bellevue found the southbound lanes of this bridge fell seven inches and the concrete eroded on the bottom. After having an engineering firm look more into it, the bridge was immediately closed due to safety concerns.
Jim Ristow, city administrator for Bellevue says although he doesn't think the bridge would collapse, but repairs are necessary.
"You worry about structure and if it is safe to go over that bridge,” he said. “It was err on a side of caution that we didn't want any heavy vehicles going over it that could cause further collapse.”
The bridge is closed indefinitely until the city chooses whether to repair it, which could take up to two years or replace it, that could be up to ten.
“If it's a repair three to five million dollars then what's the life expectancy do, we really want to put that kind of money into it,” Ristow said.
The city should know within the next month if the bridge is repairable or if a replacement is needed and according to Ristow the north and southbound lanes of the bridge were built differently so the northbound lanes are open and safe to drive on.
The bridge was Sarpy County's responsibility until 2023 when the City of Bellevue took over. The city scheduled other maintenance on the bridge to repair some of the rough spots until it was found to have more serious issues.
Southbound traffic will be diverted to Capehart Road.
Ristow said the city plans on opening two-way traffic in the northbound lane soon.
