LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — When you're on your daily commute, you might not think too much about the roads and bridges underneath— but every day ARDOT employees do.
On Monday, we suited up with engineers as they inspected the Broadway Bridge in Little Rock which thousands of drivers cross daily.
All year long, ARDOT engineers strap in and drop down under bridges that are typically hundreds of feet in the air.
State Bridge Operations Engineer Andy Nanneman said when they go to inspect a bridge, they look for defects, loose bolts, corrosion, lost paint, and anything else that looks like it could have an issue.
ARDOT goes within an arm's reach of every bridge that they're inspecting and they do more than the federal requirement, checking bridges like Broadway every year.
In fact, Nanneman explained how they're probably under bridges more than they're over them.
For many Arkansans, maintenance concerns go back to 2021 when an ARDOT employee found a cracked beam on the I-40 bridge to Memphis, closer to Tennessee.
The inspector at the time told 9-1-1, "We just found a supercritical finding that needs traffic shut down in both directions on the I-40 Mississippi River bridge."
We asked Nanneman if ARDOT's inspection process has changed at all since that crack and he explained that they have made their procedures a little more enhanced.
"We have a little more oversight. We have an engineer on-site for structures like that, that are inspected," he added.
Though ultimately with aging or weather, Nanneman said that cracks can happen, but the key is catching them early.
"And that's why we've got a good inspection program to find them," Nanneman said.
Going under and over a bridge like Broadway takes the team about a week and while they're not necessarily working on the road it's still a concern.
"You still rely on a person driving the vehicle to be paying attention and to stay in their lane. So we appreciate folks that watch out for the signs and do slow down when they see construction work or maintenance work alongside a roadway," Nanneman described.
If engineers ever see a problem Nanneman said they'll work to fix it as soon as needed.
ARDOT inspects close to 13,000 bridges year-round across the state of Arkansas.
If you ever see something on a road or bridge that looks concerning, you can use the Ask ARDOT portal on their website by clicking here.