Flooding and wind damage brought on by the late season Hurricane Matthew tested not only the resilience of the Fort Bragg community but the integrity of its sprawling and aging infrastructure.
A cadre of structural engineers from the Savannah District’s Engineering Division arrived just days after the brute storm hit the inland North Carolina military community to conduct bridge and culvert inspections on priority structures identified by the installation’s Department of Public Works Office and Savannah District Resident Office. They set out to identify damage and determine the structural integrity of identified bridges and culverts as a result of flooding from the storm, which dumped 15 inches of rain in the area. During inspections, the team considered structural collapse, settlement, concrete cracking, concrete spalling, scour, debris buildup, impact damage, and erosion of embankments from rapidly moving flood water on all identified structures. The severity of damage varied on 38 structures queued for assessment though none were considered irreparable. The team reported findings and recommendations to the Fort Bragg DPW officials in November 2016.
The Savannah District boasts a reach that expands beyond state lines with district professionals ready to support projects on 11 Army and Air Force installations in Georgia and North Carolina.