On April 1, 1989, the Hatchie Bridge in Tipton County, Tennessee, collapsed from the pressure of the shifting river channel, killing eight motorists and sparking an investigation into the state’s failure to inspect and correct problems with the bridge a decade earlier.
Thirty years later, as Tennessee Department of Transportation crews were busy fixing a partial bridge collapse on the Interstate 75 South overpass in Chattanooga that seriously injured one motorist, TDOT deputy commissioner and chief engineer Paul Degges remembered it was the anniversary of the Hatchie Bridge collapse.
Top 5 most traveled structurally deficient bridges in Hamilton County:
I-24 eastbound left and westbound left lanes over BranchI-24 over Germantown RoadI-124 southbound left lane over West Fourth Street (State Road 389)I-124 southbound left lane over West Ninth StreetI-124 northbound left lane over I-124-RI/West Ninth Street*Information provided by American Road & Transportation Builders Association
Degges, who was working in the hydraulics unit of TDOT in 1989, recalled that the Hatchie Bridge failure was like the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for state officials.
“There had been a few things that had happened nationwide that really put a spotlight on the fact that not only do bridges link communities, but you can’t just build it and walk away – you have to inspect it, maintain it and rehabilitate it,” he said.