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.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program today officially launched its Memorial Day "Click It or Ticket" campaign, marking 20 years of seat belt safety awareness efforts that have saved countless lives.

To honor this milestone and show support for the cause, GHSP is asking North Carolinians to get out their cell phone cameras, snap a self-portrait of them buckled up while parked and share it on social media, using the hashtag, "#SafetySelfie."

"As the state that started "Click It or Ticket" two decades ago, we're known for finding unique ways to encourage people to fasten their seat belts," said Don Nail, interim director of GHSP. “The ‘#SafetySelfie’ is just one more example of our innovative approach to changing motorists' behavior for the better. By harnessing the power of social media, we hope to convince the small percentage of people who aren't buckling their seat belts that it's the right thing to do."