PA Has 4,506 Deficient, Possibly Unsafe Bridges, Study Says

You may not realize it, but that bridge you just drove over may not have been good shape, let alone safe. That's because many of the bridges in the United States - and 20 percent of the spans in Pennsylvania - are in serious need of repair or modernization. (see list below)

An analysis of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s recently-released 2016 National Bridge Inventory data finds cars, trucks and school buses cross the nation’s 55,710 structurally compromised bridges 185 million times daily.

State transportation departments, in turn, have identified 13,000 interstate bridges that need replacement, widening or major reconstruction. Twenty-five of the most heavily traveled structurally deficient bridges in Pennsylvania were identified in the study from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

The group said that the vast number of the Pennsylvania bridges listed as structurally deficient may not be imminently unsafe, but ARTBA believes the public should be notified about the condition of each span and that they need repair.

According to the report:

• Of the 22,791 bridges in Pennsylvania, 4,506, or 20 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one or more of the key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or substructure, is considered to be in "poor" or worse condition.
• 4,206 bridges, or 18 percent, are classified as functionally obsolete. This means the bridge does not meet design standards in line with current practice.
• 2,053 bridges are posted for load, which may restrict the size and weight of vehicles crossing the structure.
• Federal investment in Pennsylvania has supported $7.5 billion for capital improvements on 3,296 bridges between 2005 and 2014.2
• Over the last 10 years, 2,050 new bridges have been constructed in the state; 1,925 have undergone major reconstruction.
• The state has identified needed repairs on 11,991 bridges, which the state estimates will cost $12 million.

And not all of the the structurally deficient bridges are all the ones everybody knows about. Here is the list of the 25 structurally bridges that are most heavily traveled, including the county, the year it opened, the daily crosses and the location:

1. Philadelphia: 1971, 208,978, Urban Interstate Delaware Expway. over Palmer-Cumberland Strs.
2. Philadelphia: 1965, 208,978, Urban Interstate Delaware Expway. over Sergeant & Huntingdon St
3. Philadelphia: 1970, 208,978, Urban Interstate Delaware Expway. over Shackamaxon Street
4. Philadelphia: 1966, 191,813, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Ramp C
5. Philadelphia: 1966, 188,882, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Longshore Avenue
6. Philadelphia: 1966, 188,882, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Magee Avenue
7. Philadelphia: 1966, 188,882, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Unruh Avenue
8. Philadelphia: 1967, 188,882, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Comly Street
9. Philadelphia: 1966, 188,882, Urban Interstate Interstate 95;Ramp over New State Rd/Railroad
10. Philadelphia: 1967, 188,882, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Fraley Street
11. Philadelphia: 1965, 187,500, Urban Interstate Delaware Expway. over Wheatsheaf Lane
12. Philadelphia: 1965, 187,500, Urban Interstate Delaware Expway. over Venango Street
13. Philadelphia: 1968, 184,398, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over earth fill & sewer access
14. Philadelphia: 1966, 177,102, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Bleigh Ave & Railroad
15. Philadelphia: 1966, 177,102, Urban Interstate Interstate 95 over Ramp B (Cottman Avenue)
16. Montgomery: 1952, 124,902, Urban Interstate Schuylkill Expway. over Righters Ferry Road
17. Lehigh: 1954, 89,231, Urban freeway/expressway US 22(LR 771) over Lehigh River;Corman RR.
18. Lehigh: 1954, 89,231, Urban freeway/expressway US 22(LR 771) over Lehigh Canal SR 17 Nsr
19. Philadelphia: 1960, 89,124, Urban freeway/expressway Roosevelt Blvd Ext over Roberts Ave;Septa;CSX
20. Northampton: 1954, 76,526, Urban freeway/expressway SR 22 (LR 772) over SR 512(LR 48046)
21. Montgomery: 1954, 74,921, Urban Interstate Pa Tpk(I-276)Rp Ab over Sandy Run
22. Bucks: 1967 69,420, Urban freeway/expressway Lincoln Highway over Street Road
23. Berks: 1963 65,851 Urban freeway/expressway SR 422 (Lr793) over Thun Recreational Trail
24. Montgomery: 1955 65,329, Rural Interstate Pa Tpk (I-476) over T-397
25. Montgomery: 1954 65,329, Rural Interstate Pa Tpk (I-476) over SR 0363 Lr 463

The inventory of structurally deficient bridges nationally has declined 0.5 percent since the 2015 report. At that pace, it would take more than two decades to replace or repair all of them, according to ARTBA Chief Economist Dr. Alison Premo Black, who conducted the analysis.

Black says the data shows 28 percent of bridges (173,919) are over 50 years old and have never had any major reconstruction work in that time.

“America’s highway network is woefully underperforming. It is outdated, overused, underfunded and in desperate need of modernization,” Black said in a press release. “State and local transportation departments haven’t been provided the resources to keep pace with the nation’s bridge needs.”

To help ensure public safety, bridge decks and support structures are regularly inspected for deterioration and remedial action, according to the report. They are rated on a scale of zero to nine—with nine meaning the bridge is in “excellent” condition. A bridge is classified as structurally deficient and in need of repair if its overall rating is four or below.

While these bridges may not be imminently unsafe, they are in need of attention.
Other key findings in the ARTBA analysis:

• Iowa (4,968), Pennsylvania (4,506), Oklahoma (3,460), Missouri (3,195), Nebraska (2,361), Illinois (2,243), Kansas (2,151), Mississippi (2,098), Ohio (1,942) and New York (1,928) have the most structurally deficient bridges. The District of Columbia (9), Nevada (31), Delaware (43), Hawaii (64) and Utah (95) have the least.

Established in 1902, Washington, D.C.-based ARTBA analyzes the U.S. transportation design and construction industry before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, news media and the general public.

Patch file photo