DelDOT: I-495 Closing Immediately for Bridge Repairs

DelDOT: I-495 Closing Immediately for Bridge Repairs

WILMINGTON -- The Department of Transportatin has closed I-495 northbound and southbound at Bridge 1-813 over the Christina River as of 6 p.m. tonight.

DelDOT is closing the bridge because an inspection showed four of the 37 support columns are tilted as much as four percent out of vertical alignment. Bridge engineers and consultant are on the scene and are placing tilt sensors to monitor the bridge.

I-495 will be closed northbound at Terminal Avenue and message boards are in place on I-95 and Route 1 and U.S. 13. Local northbound traffic can stay on I-495 to Terminal Avenue (Exit 2). I-495 southbound will be closed at the Pennsylvania state line. Southbound traffic will be directed to take I-95 southbound.

Bridge 1-813 over the Christina is a concrete deck on steel beams, built in 1974.  It was last inspected in October 2012, and bridges of this type are inspected every two years. This section of I-495 carries approximately 90,000 vehicles daily.

More information will be provided as it is available.