Garland Haywood is the Bridge Manager for the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It’s his job to make sure bridges in our area are safe, secure and inspected every two years.

“You could certainly have something undermining a bridge that if you don’t have these diligent inspections you’re not going to catch,” said Haywood.

According to AAA, nearly 900,000 people across the state are expected  to hit the roads for Memorial Day weekend.  But most of us don’t think twice about the bridges we drive near until we see accidents like the one Thursday in Washington.

A truck carrying an oversized load slammed into a bridge which caused it to collapse.

Forecasters with NOAA issued their predictions for the 2013 hurricane season Thursday. Once again, a busy year is expected in the tropical Atlantic. NOAA expects 13-20 named storms to form. Of those 7-11 could be hurricanes, and 3-6 of those could be major hurricanes with winds of at least 111 mph.

Forecasters look at several factors including sea surface temperatures, the likelihood of an El Nino event in the Pacific and long-range computer models to assist in their predictions.

Drs. Phil Klotzbach and William Gray, forecasters at Colorado State University, are also anticipating an above-average season. They expect 18 named storms to develop. Of those, they anticipate nine hurricanes.

GASTON COUNTY, NC (WBTV)- Firefighters from Crowder's Mountain Fire & Rescue, and personnel from Gaston Emergency Medical Services, responded to a vehicle fire in Gaston County Thursday.

The incident happened on Sparrow Springs Road just before 8:30 a.m.

Firefighters say the accident involved a single vehicle with one occupant struck a tree, causing the vehicle to catch fire. 

Personnel helped the victim get out of the vehicle while crews extinguished the fire.

The patient was transported to Caromont Regional Medical Center, and is expected to be okay.

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