California’s tallest bridge to undergo structural testing

California’s tallest bridge, the Foresthill Bridge in Placer County, will be undergoing non-destructive testing after an Ohio bridge of similar construction was shown to have issues in its steel, according to Placer County officials.

The 730-foot tall bridge spans across the North Fork of the American River canyon, about 35 miles north of Sacramento.

According to the county, ultrasonic testing will be done on 282 weld points, called butt welds, as the steel used in these areas, T-1, recently showed home some issues in an Ohio bridge.

Following the inspection of the Ohio bridge, the bridge was closed and the Federal Highway Administration launched a program to inspect bridges nationwide that use T-1 steel in its construction.

On Tuesday, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved $6.3 million in contracts that will be funded by 80% of federal funds and 20% of SB1 state funding to carry out the ultrasonic testing.

“This is a non-destructive inspection that really is a quality assurance measure,” said Placer County Department of Public Works Deputy Director Matt Randall. “Foresthill Bridge is safe and will remain open during the process.”

To conduct the inspection an under-bridge inspection truck will be used to access the nearly 300 weld points and the data from the testing will be sent to the Caltrans Material Engineering and Testing Services Division.

“Repairs, if necessary, could be made as simply as drilling holes in the vicinity of a deficient portion of a weld, or could require the preparation of a construction plan for a connection retrofit, which would be prepared under a separate competitive construction bid,” the county wrote in their new release.

Inspections will begin this summer and are expected to continue through Spring 2025.

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