Recently we had a concerned citizen write in to our "Ask the City" segment inquiring about repairs to the Clark Street Bridge. While the decaying bridge and its planned replacement have been talked about very actively in our news lately, we haven't actually ever taken a good look at the condition of the bridge. People around town always seem to question the safety of the bridge, so we decided to take the camera out and capture a quick snapshot of different parts of the structure, which you can see in the gallery above.

While everyone sees the damage on the bridge's top decking as they drive over the bridge, chances are that many people in town have not seen much of the supporting structure. I myself didn't expect to see as much crumbling as I captured in the gallery above, but am by no means an expert on the subject.

However in the past I know that the question of how much longer the Clark Street Bridge will survive has been asked of the city, but I personally have never heard any kind of definite answer. This may be partially due to the fact that WYDOT and not the City of Laramie is actually responsible for the bridge and its maintenance. However if you are interested we have attached bridge inspection summaries for the bridge from both 1997 and 2009 below courtesy of UglyBridges.com. From what we can tell, these ratings appear to be accurate, but we will also be asking WYDOT to verify these and hopefully provided the latest inspection results; their website says that all bridges in the state are inspected at least every 2 years. It is also states that the sufficiency rating is defined as the following:

A numerical rating of a bridge ranging from 0 - 100 of which 55 percent is based on the structural adequacy and safety, 30 percent on serviceability and functional obsolescence, and 15 percent on essentiality for public use. The sufficiency rating is used as a basis for establishing eligibility and priority for replacement or rehabilitation of bridges, and not as a direct measure of the structural adequacy or safeness of a bridge.

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It's probably not a fair question to ask if Laramie residents think the current condition of bridge's structure is sound, as that should be left to the professionals. However we do think it's fair to ask whether or not you personally feel confident in using the bridge. Let us know what you think below:

We want to reward you just for answering this poll! Enter your answer to this poll in the Laramie Rewards Program for your chance to win some great prizes like gift cards, DVDs, and four great summer quick tips!

Have a local “Survey of the Day” question you want to ask about? Let us know! Survey results will be read one week after the survey start date on the Laramie Live Radio Show, so listen in to KOWB 1290 AM weekday mornings at 8:05 a.m.

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