The Russell Street bridge has been closed since a fire damaged it in 2023. What's next?
A downtown Fayetteville bridge heavily damaged by fire last year is still closed due to a right-of-way issue with CSX, a state Department of Transportation spokesman said this week.
The rupture of a 6-inch natural gas line on Christmas Day 2023, resulted in the fire that bent the steel beams, caused the deck to sag and damaged the surface of the eastbound Russell Street bridge over Blounts Creek. Separated by railroad tracks, the westbound bridge remains open.
But those railroad tracks have kept the NCDOT in a "holding pattern" because the bridge's right of way intersects with the railroad's right of way, according to Andrew Barksdale, NCDOT spokesperson.
“We need to demolish the bridge for safety, even though we do not yet have a design or funding identified to rebuild what was a totally unexpected bridge replacement project,” Barksdale said Monday. “Once we get the all-clear from CSX, it will take our demolition contractor about one month to demolish and remove the bridge at an approximate cost of $50,000."
Until something is done to the bridge, , Barksdale said, motorists are advised to continue to use four-lane roads like Gillespie Street, the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway and Eastern Boulevard as a detour. He said the NCDOT does not advise motorists to use Person Street as a detour since the city-maintained two-lane road passes through a residential area.
Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at LEvans@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Why did the Russell Street bridge close in downtown Fayetteville, NC?
