More bridge repairs made after debris falls from I-77 overpass in Rock Hill again

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Chunks of concrete fell Tuesday in Rock Hill from the Interstate 77 overpass onto Celanese Road, and it isn’t the first time this has happened there.

A viewer told Channel 9 about the latest incident around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The viewer said he was driving under the bridge when he noticed grapefruit-sized chunks of the bridge had fallen onto the ground.

A crew from South Carolina’s Department of Transportation was at the scene around noon preparing to fix the problem.

No one was injured, but one lane of Celanese Road underneath the bridge was shut down during repairs.

Last June, drivers reported a similar incident. At that time, the DOT said the bridge had surface damage, not structural damage.

Channel 9′s Tina Terry reached out to the SCDOT Tuesday morning to find out why this keeps happening. They said they have been checking the bridge weekly to prevent it, but it somehow happened again.

Drivers want it to stop.

“We should probably know why it’s going on, especially if we’re paying for this thing,” Matthews Morales said.

“I would be very concerned about stuff falling onto my windshield,” said John Monczynski.

SCDOT crews spent more than an hour making bridge repairs. They sent a statement to Channel 9′s Tina Terry saying the bridge deck — the surface of the bridge — was the source of the problem Tuesday.

The SCDOT also said they want to make it clear: If a bridge is unsafe for travel, SCDOT would take immediate action to close that bridge.

Their full statement is below:

“SCDOT crews responded to Celanese Road earlier today after reports that pieces of concrete were falling from the I-77 bridge over Celanese Road. SCDOT crews made repairs to the bridge deck and at this time the repairs are complete and all the traveling lanes are open.

“We want to make it very clear that if a bridge is unsafe for travel, SCDOT takes immediate action to close the bridge. Because of the condition of the bridge deck, we currently perform weekly checks and maintenance on this bridge to make surface repairs. SCDOT recently committed an additional $1.5 million in funding to perform more in depth deck repairs and patching on the I-77 bridges in York and Chester counties, including this one. We encourage community members to stay tuned to our website for updates on that project.

“In the meantime, we will continue to monitor this bridge and make repairs as needed. We appreciate the continued patience of drivers in the area as we work to make repairs.”

(WATCH BELOW: Stranded no more: Volunteers rebuild bridge washed out by heavy rain)

Stranded no more: Volunteers rebuild bridge washed out by heavy rain

©2024 Cox Media Group