WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says damage to an interstate bridge in Delaware is not just a state issue, but a national issue.
The Interstate 495 bridge over the Christina River in Wilmington was closed June 2 because several supporting columns are tilting.
In visiting the site Friday, Foxx said the closing of the I-495 bridge and bypass around Wilmington affects travel up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
Engineers believe that a massive dirt mound dumped next to the bridge may have caused underground soils to shift, damaging nearby columns.
But Foxx would not say whether federal inspection standards should be revised to require that states ensure that rights of way near bridges are not encroached upon.
Officials hope to at least partially reopen the I-495 bridge by Labor Day.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
