Safety plan in place for I-26 bridge removal over French Broad

ASHEVILLE – An old Interstate 26 bridge over the French Broad River is coming down, and N.C. Department of Transportation officials are implementing a safety plan to protect boaters.

The contractor on the I-26 widening project recently installed a variety of safety measures to prevent material from falling into the river and will add additional resources once they start working over water.

A spotter will be placed upriver from the bridge and will be in communication with the removal team. In an emergency, the spotter will alert the team to pause operations.