ODOT: Bridges Inspected Immediately After Cushing Quake

Sunday night’s 5.0 magnitude earthquake in Cushing did plenty of damage to buildings in town, but apparently not to any bridges in the area. ODOT was quick to give the green light to drivers.

Under ODOT policy, a 4.7 or stronger earthquake sets inspections in motion. They inspect all bridges within a 5-mile radius if it's magnitude 4.7 or 4.8; within 15 miles if it's 4.9 to 5.3, as Sunday's was.

Before the 10 p.m. news even started bringing images of the damage in downtown Cushing Sunday, ODOT had already sent out a tweet, just two hours after the quake hit, saying there was no bridge damage within 15 miles of the epicenter.

“They've got this down to a science. They've done this so many times,” said ODOT spokesperson, Terri Angier.

Angier says the inspection crews have earthquake response bags in their trucks and are essentially always ready to go

“So they really, it's a matter of mobilizing, in the case of Sunday night's earthquake, they were there within about 15 minutes,” Angier told News 9.

Angier says about 10 crews responded Sunday, inspecting 110 bridges, but she emphasizes these are visual inspections, not the detailed structural inspections required every other year. Those can take days and weeks, these take about 15 to 30 minutes.

“Basically what they do, they look to see if there's anything shifting, on the bridges, the first thing they look for at the beams, at the rollers, anything that connects together on a bridge,” Angier said. “If they see anything suspicious that causes concern, they will close the bridge and ask for additional help.”

Again, no concerns were noted. Angier says these bridges are designed to withstand the vibration that comes with our quakes. ODOT's biggest concern is the frequency of the quakes, and the effect even small quakes can have over time.