On June 3rd, the Interstate 495 bridge over the Christina River in Delaware was closed indefinitely due to
tilting columns:
Officials said Tuesday they believe the bridge over the Christina River is stable enough to support itself, but that re-opening it to traffic could overload the structure.
Four pairs of 50-foot columns have been found to be tilting, with the top of one column roughly two feet out of line with the bottom. Cars are being diverted onto the already busy I-95 causing even more traffic.
The bridge is part of a heavily used East Coast artery that serves
90,000 vehicles per day.
Now a man has stepped forward to say that he called 911 nearly two months before the eventual closure:
"It's kind of a crazy emergency," he said. "The two roadbeds are lifting up opposing each other and it doesn't look right. Something's wrong."
Allen, Jr., who regularly travels across the bridge on his commute, told the operator that he had attempted to contact the Delaware Department of Transportation using several numbers, but could not get in touch with anyone.
Love Triangle Assault: Man's Girlfriend Stabs Wife During Brawl in Convenience Store
"I don't want to be rude and use this number for something that's not [an emergency], but it appears to be an emergency today," he said.
The operator tells Allen, Jr. that she would pass along the information to police. However, its unclear what happened next with the man's warning.
You can listen to his 911 call
here.
Now the question becomes, who was this information passed along to and why wasn't the bridge closed sooner?