Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. Underwater Bridge Inspection Services

Underwater Bridge Inspection Services

Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. has personnel on staff that have personally performed commercial diving operations on over 2,000 bridges in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Florida and North Carolina. MCDI divers have worked in conjunction with numerous engineering companies and government agencies in the performance of these projects. MCDI divers are very experienced with all aspects of inland commercial diving including working in heavy current, zero visibility and cold water.

If you have any questions regarding our services, capabilities, or experience, please do not hesitate to call us.

Tennessee Underwater Bridge Inspection Performed by Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc.

Tennessee DOT Bridge Inspections

Since 1990 Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. has performed over 1,500 underwater bridge inspections throughout the state of Tennessee for the Tennessee Department of Transportation including:

44 Bridges in 2012
12 Bridges in 2011 (including two deep water bridges requiring the use of MCDI's Decompression Chamber)
47 Bridges in 2010
36 Bridges in 2009
41 Bridges in 2007
74 Bridges in 2005
35 Bridges in 2004
71 Bridges in 2002
54 Bridges in 2001
73 Bridges in 2000

A few recent bridge projects include:

Diving work assisting with pier construction on the Ledbetter Bridge Project in Kentucky (installing rebar mats).

Diving work for the new Kentucky Lock and Dam project including two new bridges.

Diving and cofferdam work for the construction of numerous bridges including bridges in Portsmouth and Pomeroy, Ohio.

Underwater Sonar Imaging for six Union Pacific Railroad Bridges.

Diving work for the Stadium Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee.

Assisting with underwater work for the re-opening of the I-10 Escambia Bay Bridge in Florida following Hurricane Ivan (including underwater concrete demolition, underwater rigging, and positioning new piers).

Underwater demolition work (including the use of explosives) on the collapsed I-40 Bridge near Webber Falls, Oklahoma.

Work for widening of an I-65 bridge.

Underwater inspection and hydrographic soundings of the historic Eads Bridge in Saint Louis.

Several of MCDI's Diving Supervisors Have Completed the
National Highway Institute,
Underwater Bridge Inspection Course

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Craig Fortenbery Certificate for Underwater Bridge Inspection Training Course

Underwater Bridge Inspection Performed by Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc.

CASE STUDY: Underwater Inspection of Historic Bridge in Quincy, Illinois

Mainstream provided an experienced and qualified three-man dive team to perform a Level-1 visual and tactile inspection of the underwater elements of a 100-year old bridge. Surface supplied diving equipment with voice communications were utilized to conduct the inspection. The diver used a probe rod to identify the extents of each pier footing. The diver also investigated for scour holes or voids under or near the footings and identified the river bottom material around the bridge piers. Soundings were taken around the bridge piers in ten foot increments out 50’ from the edge of the piers.

Bridge Rehabilitation Performed by Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc.

CASE STUDY: Underwater Bridge Repair Following Hurricane Ivan

In 2004, Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. was called upon to assist with underwater work for the re-opening of the I-10 Escambia Bay Bridge in Florida following Hurricane Ivan. Mainstream's work included underwater concrete demolition, underwater rigging, and the positioning of the new piers.

Click button below to read a letter from Kentucky Representative Edward Whitfield regarding MCDI's emergency work this project following Hurricane Ivan.

Bridge Pier Rehabilitation Performed by Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc.

CASE STUDY: Bridge Pile Encapsulation

Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. repaired several concrete filled, corrugated metal, pipe column bridge piers. The column sizes varied between 30" and 36" in diameter. MCDI first removed the old corrugated pipe to a level of 3 feet above the water's surface. MCDI then removed the loose concrete and pressure washed the exposed rebar. MCDI then installed #4 rebar rings every 18" around the existing vertical rebar at locations where the rebar was completely exposed and no longer embedded in the concrete. After this, MCDI installed fiberglass pile jackets around the existing columns, sealed each one at the river bottom, and then filled the void with a cementitious grout.

CASE STUDY: Submerged Bridge Inspection Project

Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. was contracted by the National Park Service to perform an underwater inspection of a bridge located in a very remote location in the Great Smoky Mountains. The bridge is underwater most of the year. Prior to our inspection, the National Park Services believed the decking had floated loose from the substructure. To locate the bridge substructure, the dive team deployed a diver into the middle of the channel and pulled the diver upstream until he found the submerged bridge substructure. After the bridge substructure was located, the dive team inspected both of the abutments, the pier, and the metal components of the structure. Mainstream used underwater photography to document the condition of the submerged portions of the bridge deck and abutments.

Core Sampling Performed by Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc.

CASE STUDY: Core Sampling

Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. has the skill and equipment to obtain core samples during an underwater bridge inspection.

Sonar Bridge Inspection Performed by Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc.

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ADDITIONAL BRIDGE INSPECTION SERVICES: Underwater Bridge Sonar Inspections

Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. has years of experience performing underwater sonar inspections including those on bridge piers.