Billions Needed to Shore Up Nation's Bridges
House sends bill to Senate that would give states $1 billion for bridge repair.
July 25, 2008— -- The fatal collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis a year ago jolted states into better inspections of the nation's 600,000 bridges, but they aren't coming up with the billions of dollars needed to ensure that all of them are sound.
The plunge that killed 13 people when the span crumpled into the Mississippi River on Aug. 1 was "a wake-up call" to take care of aging bridges, says Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. "We can't wait for another Minneapolis."
Since the tragedy, Pennsylvania has approved $350 million in bonds to repair 411 bridges. Road tolls will go up next year.
It would cost $9.4 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies in the USA, according to the latest estimate, made in 2005, by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
A USA TODAY review found that beefed-up inspections since the collapse led 16 states to close bridges, reduce weight limits or make immediate repairs. All states inspected bridges designed like the one that fell. Some, including Arizona, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee, conducted broader reviews to identify bridges needing the most work.
South Carolina and Wisconsin are installing high-tech sensors that record the deterioration of a bridge, which inspectors can track on the Internet.
Arkansas is training assistant building inspectors to team with bridge inspectors so there are two sets of trained eyes at an inspection.
Twelve percent of the nation's bridges are structurally deficient, according to the Federal Highway Administration, meaning they are not unsafe but are so deteriorated that they must be closely monitored and inspected or repaired. That percentage has crept down. In 1997, it was 15%.
States are fixing bridges that are in the worst shape, but long-term repairs and upkeep will still suffer unless funding increases, says Kent Harries, a University of Pittsburgh engineering professor.
"We will see more bridge collapses," says Harries, who specializes in bridge engineering.
Colorado has identified 125 major bridges in need of replacement or major repair at a cost of $1.4 billion. Funding for repairs, though, fell from $32 million in 2007 to $18 million in 2009.
States are facing cuts in federal funding next year because of a projected $3.2 billion shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. The gap is expected to grow because Americans are driving less.
Thursday, the House of Representatives sent to the Senate a bill that would give states $1 billion in emergency funds for bridge repair.
States are looking for other financing. Nine are issuing bonds — taking on debt — raising taxes, hiking fees or shifting funds from other road projects.
New Jersey is moving funds from other road projects in order to spend $605 million on bridge repairs this year, up $96 million from last year.
The money "goes a long way to help us," says Tom Sorel, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. "We've gone through a lot."