Three local bridges rate poorly, but not necessarily dangerous
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, February 21, 2008
The Gordon Drive viaduct is seen Wednesday looking east as it heads uphill from the intersection of Virginia St. and Gordon Drive. (Sioux City Journal, Jerry Mennenga)
Three Siouxland bridges are rated among the worst spans in Iowa, according to a report released Wednesday by The Road Information Program, a nonprofit transportation group based in Washington, D.C.
Two of the three bridges rated among the 11 most "structurally deficient" in the state are on Gordon Drive in Sioux City. One is near Spencer, Iowa.
The report also revealed that more than one fifth of Iowa's bridges are in need of significant repair. Iowa ranks fourth among all states in terms of highest rate of bridges which need repair, with 21 percent classified as "structurally deficient" as of December 2007, according to the TRIP report.
The Hawkeye State trailed only Pennsylvania, with 26 percent of its bridges deemed structurally deficient; Oklahoma, with 25 percent; and Rhode Island, with 22 percent, according to the TRIP report. The national average for structurally deficient bridges is 12 percent.
"The current traffic levels, particularly that of commercial trucking, are increasing at a significant rate, putting more wear and tear on the state's bridges than they're able to handle," said The Road Information Program's associate director of research, Carolyn Bonifas.
Bridges classified as deficient are not universally unsafe. Rather, a bridge is considered such if there is deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Individual components of a bridge are rated on a scale from 0-9 with those scores figuring into the overall rating. Typically, the deck of a bridge, the superstructure and the substructure are rated based on their physical condition, with 0 being the worst rating.
The report released Tuesday merely reinforces what lawmakers have known for years but have failed to remedy.
Iowa Department of Transportation Director Nancy Richardson called the TRIP report a "fair assessment" of the condition of the state's bridges. She cautioned, however, that "terms like 'structurally deficient' and 'functionally obsolete' do not mean the bridges are unsafe. They are simply classifications under the federal bridge funding program."
"Any bridge in the state found to be unsafe would be immediately closed," Richardson said.
Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation have said the state should pump an additional $200 million into its roads and bridge fund, at a minimum, to maintain the current system.
In response to the department's request, lawmakers this year are considering a hodgepodge of road-related fee increases, including a boost in the cost of Iowans' annual vehicle registration fees, to generate the needed funds. But getting a majority of lawmakers to vote to increase fees on taxpayers during an election year may prove to be difficult.
Local bridges slated for repairs
The most heavily traveled of the three Northwest Iowa bridges listed is the Gordon Viaduct, rated the ninth most structurally deficient bridge in the sate. It carries 26,400 vehicles per day, according to the study.
That ranking will surely improve by the end of the coming construction season. An extensive, $5 million, improvement project is already under way. The work includes an all-new driving surface and median, as well as a new concrete barrier between the sidewalk and traffic lanes and fresh paint on the north side handrails.
IDOT resident engineer Darwin Bishop said about one-third of the paving of the eastbound lanes was completed last year. The rest of the work will be finished this year.
Bishop said the "sloped curve" median installed on the viaduct is required wherever the speed limit is 45 mph or higher because it's safer than the higher, squared-off style median.
"If someone were to hit it," he said, "they could come back and recover. Before, it was 9 inches straight up and down."
He said at best that could damage the vehicle, at worst, it could cause it to carom into traffic.
He noted that on two-lane bridges only a double line separates head-to-head traffic.
Ranked 10th worst is a second bridge on Gordon Drive. It is near South Maple Street, and carries traffic over an abandoned railroad track near the Western Iowa Tech truck driving school. It carries 113,200 vehicles per day, according to TRIP.
The IDOT is aware of the bridge and its deficiencies, said Bruce Brakke, head of the IDOT Office of Bridges and Structures, in Ames, Iowa. He said the bridge is slated to be removed. The chasm will be filled in with dirt and perhaps a box culvert.
While the project does not yet appear on the IDOT's five-year construction schedule, it is on the "monitor" list.
Brakke said that means it will be pushed onto the schedule as soon as possible. He said the construction schedule reflects the priorities and funding, taking into account the various bridges' conditions and traffic counts.
A third Siouxland bridge, on Iowa Highway 18 as it crosses the Little Sioux River in Spencer, is ranked 11th most structurally deficient. Brakke said it is already on the IDOT's schedule for a complete replacement, with the bid letting set for November 2009.
Whitney Woodward of the Journal Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report.
More online
How structurally sound are our bridges? Search a database of 24,000 bridges in Siouxland and across Iowa to see how structurally sound they are. http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/multimedia/bridge_db.php”>Click to search.
Two of the three bridges rated among the 11 most "structurally deficient" in the state are on Gordon Drive in Sioux City. One is near Spencer, Iowa.
The report also revealed that more than one fifth of Iowa's bridges are in need of significant repair. Iowa ranks fourth among all states in terms of highest rate of bridges which need repair, with 21 percent classified as "structurally deficient" as of December 2007, according to the TRIP report.
The Hawkeye State trailed only Pennsylvania, with 26 percent of its bridges deemed structurally deficient; Oklahoma, with 25 percent; and Rhode Island, with 22 percent, according to the TRIP report. The national average for structurally deficient bridges is 12 percent.
"The current traffic levels, particularly that of commercial trucking, are increasing at a significant rate, putting more wear and tear on the state's bridges than they're able to handle," said The Road Information Program's associate director of research, Carolyn Bonifas.
Bridges classified as deficient are not universally unsafe. Rather, a bridge is considered such if there is deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Individual components of a bridge are rated on a scale from 0-9 with those scores figuring into the overall rating. Typically, the deck of a bridge, the superstructure and the substructure are rated based on their physical condition, with 0 being the worst rating.
The report released Tuesday merely reinforces what lawmakers have known for years but have failed to remedy.
Iowa Department of Transportation Director Nancy Richardson called the TRIP report a "fair assessment" of the condition of the state's bridges. She cautioned, however, that "terms like 'structurally deficient' and 'functionally obsolete' do not mean the bridges are unsafe. They are simply classifications under the federal bridge funding program."
"Any bridge in the state found to be unsafe would be immediately closed," Richardson said.
Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation have said the state should pump an additional $200 million into its roads and bridge fund, at a minimum, to maintain the current system.
In response to the department's request, lawmakers this year are considering a hodgepodge of road-related fee increases, including a boost in the cost of Iowans' annual vehicle registration fees, to generate the needed funds. But getting a majority of lawmakers to vote to increase fees on taxpayers during an election year may prove to be difficult.
Local bridges slated for repairs
The most heavily traveled of the three Northwest Iowa bridges listed is the Gordon Viaduct, rated the ninth most structurally deficient bridge in the sate. It carries 26,400 vehicles per day, according to the study.
That ranking will surely improve by the end of the coming construction season. An extensive, $5 million, improvement project is already under way. The work includes an all-new driving surface and median, as well as a new concrete barrier between the sidewalk and traffic lanes and fresh paint on the north side handrails.
IDOT resident engineer Darwin Bishop said about one-third of the paving of the eastbound lanes was completed last year. The rest of the work will be finished this year.
Bishop said the "sloped curve" median installed on the viaduct is required wherever the speed limit is 45 mph or higher because it's safer than the higher, squared-off style median.
"If someone were to hit it," he said, "they could come back and recover. Before, it was 9 inches straight up and down."
He said at best that could damage the vehicle, at worst, it could cause it to carom into traffic.
He noted that on two-lane bridges only a double line separates head-to-head traffic.
Ranked 10th worst is a second bridge on Gordon Drive. It is near South Maple Street, and carries traffic over an abandoned railroad track near the Western Iowa Tech truck driving school. It carries 113,200 vehicles per day, according to TRIP.
The IDOT is aware of the bridge and its deficiencies, said Bruce Brakke, head of the IDOT Office of Bridges and Structures, in Ames, Iowa. He said the bridge is slated to be removed. The chasm will be filled in with dirt and perhaps a box culvert.
While the project does not yet appear on the IDOT's five-year construction schedule, it is on the "monitor" list.
Brakke said that means it will be pushed onto the schedule as soon as possible. He said the construction schedule reflects the priorities and funding, taking into account the various bridges' conditions and traffic counts.
A third Siouxland bridge, on Iowa Highway 18 as it crosses the Little Sioux River in Spencer, is ranked 11th most structurally deficient. Brakke said it is already on the IDOT's schedule for a complete replacement, with the bid letting set for November 2009.
Whitney Woodward of the Journal Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report.
More online
How structurally sound are our bridges? Search a database of 24,000 bridges in Siouxland and across Iowa to see how structurally sound they are. http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/multimedia/bridge_db.php”>Click to search.
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FMC wrote on Feb 21, 2008 11:38 PM:
For those of you who still think thi bridge is safe go ahead & keep using it. I just hope you're not on it when it falls. "
Scared wrote on Feb 21, 2008 4:46 PM:
Bridge Deck - this is what the asphalt or concrete is laid on - not the surface but UNDER the surface.
Supports - this is what helps to hold the bridge up.
Major Componants - this is what keeps the bridge from collapsing.
Nowhere is it mentioned that any of the above are going to get fixed on the biaduct - rather that it was going to be resurfaced and the rails painted. Whoopee. That doesn't address the Bridge Deck, Supports, or Major Componants, does it? Instead, it makes for a pretty bridge that has had none of the problems addressed, but instead is nice looking. "
Great, But... wrote on Feb 21, 2008 3:45 PM:
Bridges classified as deficient are not universally unsafe. Rather, a bridge is considered such if there is deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
That is what's wrong with the Gordan Bridge, not that it's at risk of collapsing. They are addressing what's wrong with it.
"
Scared wrote on Feb 21, 2008 3:44 PM:
Jeff wrote on Feb 21, 2008 10:59 AM: