Trends Winter 2019 | Page 22

SCOURING FOR SOLUTIONS MDOT and Ayres partner to research bridge inspection technologies T he 1987 collapse of the New York state Thruway bridge over Schoharie Creek remains a pivotal point in history, so tragic it’s hard to comprehend. Difficult even to imagine what it was like for 10 people who lost their lives that rainy Sunday morning when the structure gave out from under them, plummeting their vehicles into deep, surging flood waters brought on by spring thaw and heavy rains in the Catskill region. By Tonia Johnson A year before the collapse, the Thruway bridge had received a safety inspection rating of six on a scale of seven. However, 22 | TRENDS Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence.