ODOT Finds New Way To Identify Bad Bridges After Quakes

New software to help the Oklahoma Department of Transportation figure out which bridges to inspect after an earthquake may soon be up and running.

It's called ShakeCast and it was created by U.S. Geological Survey. ShakeCast is in the final stage of a two-year, two-phase, nearly $650,000 contract with Infrastructure Engineers Incorporated of Edmond to develop an earthquake response protocol.

Previously, after a 4.4 magnitude earthquake, crews would visually inspect every bridge within a five-mile radius of the epicenter. But this new technology will allow crews to respond to specific bridges identified by the software that may be more susceptible to damage, in turn saving time and money. 

"It'll correlate with several different factors” ODOT spokesperson Kenna Mitchell says, “such as the ground movement, the magnitude the age of the bridges, conditions of the bridges. And it'll give us a priority listing."

ODOT hopes to have the software ready to go in the next few weeks.