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Using Aerial Images of Closed I-495 Bridge Near Wilmington

DelDOT website

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Delaware officials are using aerial images taken over the last few years to investigate a mountain of dirt they think may have caused an interstate bridge to become unsafe.

Engineers think that as the pile of dirt grew to about two stories high and 100 yards long, it moved the ground and caused the bridge to tilt.

Delaware Transportation Secretary Shailen Bhatt says images from Google Earth show the pile of dirt gradually growing beginning in 2012.

He says part of the pile eventually appeared to be on state land and a fence that once cordoned off the government's property had been removed. Crews will start putting up a new fence Thursday and Gov. Jack Markell is supposed set to visit the Interstate 495 bridge in the afternoon.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.