By BJ Austin
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-702946.mp3
Dallas, TX – Leaving downtown Dallas west on the I-30 bridge over the river is already bumpy. Tires bounce on the arthritic joints of the 40 year old span. But a two-foot, by three-foot HOLE in the center lane stopped traffic immediately just after 10 o'clock last night. Randy Black is with TxDOT.
Randy Black: "Debris that fell did not fall onto Beckley. It fell onto the sloped area near the end of the bridge, underneath the bridge. We were notified that a couple of cars may have hit the hole driving over the bridge, but there were no injuries."
At the nearby Main Post Office, news of the bottomless pothole scared this woman, who says she drives the bridge all the time.
"Last year I think in Minnesota, that bridge. And if I recall, within 72 hours they said there were like I don't know how many thousands of bridges that needed to be repaired. It's very scary. You know were so busy worrying about Iraq, we're forgetting about our backyard."
TxDOT's Randy Black blames the pothole on the 200 thousand cars a day that speed over the aging bridge. He says the I-30 bridge is inspected every six months, and passed a review within the past 30 days.
Dallas City Councilman Dave Neumann is hopeful the inspections are often enough.
Dave Neumann: "It gives me great concern about that bridge. Our challenge is to be proactive, not reactive."
The city's SECOND Santiago Calatrava designer bridge will replace the old I-30 span. Assistant Dallas City Manager Jill Jordan says construction will begin in 2011, with a new bridge in 2014 and none too soon.
Jill Jordan: "The current I-30 bridge is an older bridge. It has a lot of maintenance issues. It's past its useful life."
That's not necessarily what this commuter wants to hear, but he says he'll put his faith in TxDOT repair crews in the meantime: "If they fix it, it's probably safe to drive over"