With the bridge tragedy in mind, how are the bridges in your

[yy4me]

state? It is a pretty scary mess we are in on all fronts!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/03/588_mass_bridges_deficient/

[liberal N proud]

1. TV stations in Cleveland this AM

Reporting that although many bridges are rated deficient in the state, not to worry because they were inspected annually.

"deficient but don't worry"

[Debau2005]

3. Wow, yours get inspected anually?

In Georgia, deficient bridges are inspected every TWO years! According to the news we have over a thousand in that category.

[liberal N proud]

12. The real comfort is that Cleveland has a bridge designed just like the one that collapsed

The Inner Belt bridge as it is called (I90) leading into downtown Cleveland is said to be of the same design as the one in Minneapolis.
It is rated as deficient, but is due to be replaced in 10 years. I feel better already

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. IL governor calling for inspection of all bridges

especially those over the Mississippi and Ohio rivers--there are some big bridges there. I know that in the 80s, there were concerns about the I-64 bridge from Metropolis to Paducah KY--it was closed several times before they got it right. Hope they are checking it again now.

I used to live in IL, and listen to WCPT on the internet-that's why I know about IL checking bridges. Hope all governors are doing the same thing. I was thinking yesterday how lucky I was that I didn't have any bridges to cross to get to work.

[Debau2005]

4. Found this link

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/trn_bri_str_def-transportation-bridges-structurally-deficient

[yy4me]

6. This is the scariest list I have read in years. Lets see, billions

not spent on the war would fix how many?

There is nothing we can do about the war monies but certainly we can contact our state reps and demand that all bridges on the deficient list be reinforced and that a real program of repair be initiated. Competitive bidding too, not the "who you know" type of contract.

[KharmaTrain]

5. The Interstates Are 30-50 Years Old Now

Here in Chicago, we get a mixed grade. Most bridges are small...and there are no suspension bridges or long bridges. Many of the bridges here are old, but the city has been good in maintaining all the bridges downtown. The outlying areas are another story.

I'm more concerned with huge overpasses than I am with bridges. We have a tangle of exit ramps here known as the "Spaghetti Bowl"...and most major interstates massive, sweeping exit ramps that soar overhead...and no matter how well they keep it painted, you can always see the corosion and rust on them. Some bypasses have been rebuilt, but any road project these days is a long, drawn out process...meanwhile many, many overpasses hanging by a couple of bolts could be the next catastrophe to happen.

[B Calm]

7. As a trucker, I wish they would build a bridge over Chicago with

no get on ramps or exit ramps for the traffic who are just passing through...

[KharmaTrain]

9. Maybe Denny Hastert's Road To Nowhere Will Help...LOL

I need to check and see if that earmark is still alive.

I hear ya...294...the Tri-State is being "rebuilt" and will be a mess for the next couple years. The good news is I-355 is supposed to be expanded in October to I-80...not quite bypassing everything, but it'll help.

Cheers...

:hi:

[B Calm]

13. I-294 is a mess for sure! Looks like they finally finished the road work

on I-80/94 in Indiana, but now they are working on the ramps off I-65 onto I-80/94 west bound.

[Sherman A1]

8. Missouri here

and overall terrible condition. We had part of a highway overpass fall onto a car early in the Spring here in St. Louis, prompting the usual hand-wringing and tail chasing. We are seeing a bunch of highway work here in the St. Louis area (our local flower is now the road barrel), so I guess something is being done. But well live with the cut taxes, cut taxes mentality or our Esteemed Republican Governors from the past and there ya go.......

[B Calm]

14. Years ago I use to drive my 18 wheeler across a narrow bridge on RT 13

that crossed the Missouri River. There were holes in the surface where one could look down and see the water. People driving cars would freak out when they would see an 18 wheeler with them on the bridge. My god, I hoped they replaced that old bridge! Another bridge in Missouri I always hated to cross over in my truck was at Louisiana (just south of Hannibal) that crossed over the Mississippi.

[Hubert Flottz]

10. Could it happen here?

1 in 10 W.Va. bridges ‘structurally deficient’

By Ken Ward Jr.
Staff writer By Tara Tuckwiller
Staff writer

More than one in 10 West Virginia bridges are “structurally deficient,” according to federal bridge data — the same classification as a Minneapolis bridge that collapsed and killed at least four people Wednesday.

Those ratings “don’t necessarily mean it’s unsafe,” said John Walker, a deputy state highway engineer. But it does mean those bridges need to be fixed or replaced, and the state bridge budget falls short — far short, according to a computer-assisted analysis of U.S. Department of Transportation data.

West Virginia would need to spend an estimated $2.36 billion to fix all of its bridges.

But Walker said the department has just a fraction of that — about $100 million — to spend on all bridge projects. New bridges gobble a big chunk of the budget. More...

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2007080241

The main bridge here in my town was built in 1934 and is one of the “structurally deficient” bridges, the same classification as a Minneapolis bridge that collapsed. At between 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm every workday, it will have 100 cars, trucks, and busses sitting bumper to bumper on it. The bridge here in town is 33 years older than the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis two days ago.

[Suziq]

11. Pulaski Skyway in New Jersey

This link takes you to a still picture and video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6584377146914813132

The Skyway connects Jersey City to Newark. As you can see, it is the same style as the doomed bridge in Minneapolis, only 30 years older. Governor Corzine has been out there expressing his concern for this aging structure.

I made a mental note yesterday - stay OFF the Pulaski Skyway! :scared:

[Squatch]

15. Without degrees in Civil Engineering, how are we to know?

[Arkansas Granny]

16. One of our local stations has listed the number of bridges in

the state by county along with the number of deficient bridges.

http://www.5newsonline.com/Global/story.asp?S=6879704

The percentage of structurally deficient bridges by county in Arkansas, according to 2006 figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. The federal figures show that there were 12,553 bridges in Arkansas that year and that 1,068 were structurally deficient - in the same category of a bridge that collapsed Wednesday at Minneapolis. The figure amounts to 8.5%.

Arkansas highway officials put the 2007 figures at 12,398 bridges and 963 structurally deficient, or 7.8%.

[trof]

17. 13% in AL "deficient".

[triguy46]

18. In Tulsa, a couple times a year...

chunks of overpasses fall on the roadway below. Not pebbles, large, big, two handed size chunks of pavement. Kind of a russian roulette game. Better yet, a whack the gopher.

[LTR]

19. The Milwaukee freeway system is in the process of being rebuilt

I posted about the Hoan Bridge last night:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1499996&mesg_id=1500376

This one is interesting, since one side of the 30-year old double bridge structure almost did collapse. A nasty crack formed and luckily, nobody was hurt. They immediately closed the northbound side of it and used explosives to take down that portion of the bridge. The state also used the opportunity to beef up the entire bridge structure.

In addition, once the former mayor, John Norquist, left office, the city, county and state government began laying out plans to reconstruct the Marquette Interchange, which is the big one downtown. Norquist hated freeways, as he was kind of a throwback to the famed "sewer socialist" era of local mayors who were fiscally tight and saw freeways as breaking up neighborhoods and killing local businesses. He aggressively campaigned against upgrades of the main artery through town, I-94, and rebuilding the Marquette Interchange. Prior to becoming mayor, he worked to kill all proposed freeway construction in the metro area (though some of the proposed freeways would have really helped the traffic situation here) and as mayor, was effective in having one, the unfinished Park East, completely demolished and turned into a city street (which, in retrospect, was a good idea). He also wanted to swap the route numbers of I-94 and I-894, in an effort to divert thru traffic away from downtown. Luckily, that didn't go through.

The Marquette Interchange, built in 1968, was starting to show signs of wear and tear, and the decision was made to start tearing it down and rebuild from scratch. The whole thing started in 2004 and will hopefully be done by the end of next year. I have often complained about the inconvenience of the whole thing and driving through there is like driving through a war zone. After the tragedy in Minneapolis, I am thanking my lucky stars that they did take action when they did. Other parts of the freeway system around the area (none include any substantial bridges, save for overpasses) will be fixed in the years to come.

[Tracer]

20. 588 'Deficient' bridges in Massachusetts ...

... according to this morning's Boston Globe.

I don't have a whole lot of faith that ANY of them are going to get fixed real soon.

Case in point: About 5 or 6 years ago, in the town next to me, the roadway of a smallish stone bridge fell into the smallish river it crossed. Luckily, there wasn't anyone on the bridge at the time.

5 or 6 years later, the bridge repair ISN'T FINISHED! There is still a temporary bridge to one side.

Granted, the bridge had some historic value, and is being 'recreated' --- but 6 years? C'mon.

[bluedog]

21. Tampa Bay Florida

The worst bridge in Tampa Bay

Fifty-six of the more than 6,000 bridges operated in the state of Florida are in "poor" condition, according to the state's own ratings. Five are in the Tampa Bay area. The worst?

John's Pass Bridge, in Pinellas County.



However, the man in charge of them wants to assure drivers they're all safe to use.
Interactive: Ten of the area's major bridges — ratings and more

Our Worst:............this draw bridge gets stuck all the time/its bumper to bumper on this.........




Florida bridges are assigned one of five ratings, with "fair" and "poor" being the lowest.

About 300 are "fair," which means they may have minor cracking, concrete chipping or scouring, said Tim Lattner, the DOT's statewide director of maintenance.

And 56 are "poor," meaning that more sections of the bridge are deteriorating. Any bridge with a "poor" classification must be fixed or replaced within six years.

The DOT has budgeted $445-million in the coming year to replace or rehabilitate bridges. Lattner said the priority is to take care of existing structures before building anything new.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/03/State/Five_Tampa_Bay_area_b.shtml

[kedrys]

22. Watching the video of the collapse on KO last night

Couldn't help but notice that the Ship Channel Bridge in Houston is built pretty much the same way, except it's slung over 130ft above the water. It's been hit hard a couple of times since 2000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Sherman_Bridge

:scared:

[CabalPowered]

23. We loose a couple BASE jumpers every year

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perrine_Bridge

There has been some discussion of setting up permits for BASE jumpers but the Sheriffs admit that they spend much more time rescuing stranded snowmobilers than they do recovering bodies from the river.

[bigwillq]

24. Terrible in CT

where we already had a collapse in 1983.

The Quinnipiac River Bridge in New Haven was featured on CNN this morning as being one of the worst. :scared: