Over two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation’s 102 largest metropolitan regions. In total, one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years.
The quality of some of the most basic infrastructure in the world – roads – is quickly falling by the wayside in both major cities and throughout rural regions, as well. According to a recent report on bridges nationwide from Transportation for America, the problem is not only present in rural areas such as Livingston County – it’s more prevalent.
County engineer David Winters has spent the better part of his life analyzing local roadways and stretching funds to ensure the safety of the public and the quality of the roads throughout the region.
“We have to balance the affordability of different bridges with that particular township,” said Winters, who has been the Livingston County engineer since 1995. “When it comes down to [it], sometimes it gets a little too pricey for [townships] to do that many bridges all at once. That makes our decision-making a little bit easier because we can go to other townships that don’t have as many financial burdens.”
Of the 589 total bridges in Livingston County, 47 were classified as structurally deficient, based on the report, which used statistics and data from the past couple of years. The term structurally deficient refers to bridges that require significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement. These bridges must be inspected at least once each year since critical load-carrying elements were found to be in poor condition due to deterioration or damage.
Several local structures were included on the report within ten miles of Pontiac, the county seat, but none of them were on major roadways. All of the bridges that are part of Interstate 55 received ‘passing grades’ from the organization, which is something that brings relief to local commuters. The quality of major local roadways despite the lack of rural highway funding provided by the government, such as the funding through the Township Bridge Program, is an indication of how well Winters and his team have balanced their limited resources with the numerous projects each year.
“The $15 million that is allocated for (the Township Bridge Program) each year hasn’t changed since the inception of the program back in 1977,” said Winters. “While there’s no increase in the funds, for basically a 30-year-period, we’ve had increased costs. We used to build about eight bridges a year with that money. As time has gone on, we’re down to only being able to afford 1 ½ or two bridges on that same dollar amount.”
The fact that this program, which is a major asset to county highway departments across the state, continues to be largely ignored by representatives in Springfield, and this has become more apparent of late. Of the 71,177 bridges that were rated as structurally deficient in the report, over 81 percent of them were located in rural areas. The same trend appeared in bridges that were rated ‘functionally obsolete’, meaning they no longer meet the current standards that are used today, as 57 percent of all bridge that fit this designation were located in rural areas of the country.
According to Winters, over 200 bridges have been replaced or repaired in Livingston County over the past three decades. The main challenge facing the Livingston Highway Department currently are less-traveled bridges that were constructed with a timber substructure. Many of these bridges are beginning to experience rot in the timbers, leaving them in a less-than-ideal condition.
Currently, just four township bridges are actually closed, and just 32 bridges are classified as a legal load only, meaning no oversize loads may travel over them. However, as is the case with most of the issue-ridden bridges in the area, they are less traveled, and are in the long-term plans of the highway department.
Illinois was one of just 15 states that saw its number of structurally deficient bridges rise since 2011 – an alarming statistic for a state that, despite the passage of recent pension legislation, faces major financial decisions in the coming years. With no clear answer in sight, Winters and his counterparts continue to work and hope for a better plan in coming years.
“We’re looking for some alternative form of funding that would benefit all levels of transportation, whether it be public transit, highways or airports,” said Winters. “Everybody has to share the pot, and sometimes it’s difficult to get that across to out (Illinois) General Assembly members.”
Rural roads have more structural issues
Dec 28, 2013 at 12:44 PM