Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/412488
Better Roads November 2014 17 0HWKRGRORJ\7KH%HWWHU5RDGV%ULGJH,QYHQWRU\LVDQH[FOXVLYHDZDUGZLQQLQJDQQXDOVXUYH\WKDWKDVEHHQFRQGXFWHG VLQFH%ULGJHHQJLQHHUVIURPHYHU\VWDWHDQG:DVKLQJWRQ'&DUHVHQWDVXUYH\ZLWKERWKTXDOLWDWLYHDQGTXDQWLWDWLYH TXHVWLRQV7KH)HGHUDO+LJKZD\$GPLQLVWUDWLRQLQFRQVXOWDWLRQZLWKWKHVWDWHVKDVDVVLJQHGDVXIILFLHQF\UDWLQJRU65WR HDFKEULGJHIHHWRUPRUHWKDWLVLQYHQWRULHG)RUPXOD65UDWLQJIDFWRUVDUHDVRXWOLQHGLQWKHFXUUHQW|5HFRUGLQJDQG &RGLQJ*XLGHIRU6WUXFWXUHV,QYHQWRU\DQG$SSUDLVDO6, $RIWKH1DWLRQV%ULGJHV}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hen it comes to the state of our nation's bridges, money has always been the major barrier to improving the state of our na- tion's bridges. Funding, though critical – and severely lacking – is just part of the reason. It's also about mind- set: Not just waiting for bridges to fall into disrepair but also embrace the preventive maintenance approach. Kind of like fi xing those squeaky brakes or going to the doc- tor with a small problem before it becomes a big one. It's also about the people – the personnel. Sometimes you have to invest a little to make changes. W. Kyle Stollings, director of the Maintenance Division for the West Virginia Department of Transportation, says that insuffi cient funding certainly will have a "tre- mendous impact on getting structures rehabilitated or replaced" but, we also need to "get away from the 'worst fi rst' mentality and focus more on system preservation." Adam Matteo, P.E.., assistant state bridge engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation, agrees. He notes that insuffi cient funding will restrict important working in the coming year – that "our desire to keep ahead to the upcoming infl ux of structures that will require replacement or major rehabilitation is greatly affected by back of funds and personnel." That being said, Matteo points, "[We] need to change the emphasis of replacing structures with the goal of keeping the good structures good through performing preventive and restorative maintenance." When asked in the 2014 Bridge Inventory survey if any aspect of his department could be changed to improve bridges, Matteo said: "[To] create a dedicated fund that would be used to repair and replace structures. It would be primarily to keep the structures in good condition good with a secondary goal of slowly bringing the struc- ture in poor condition up to good." That pesky, perennial problem of funding remains the greatest challenge to lowering Virginia's rate of structurally defi cient (SD) and functionally obsolete (FO) bridges in the coming year, but regardless of this roadblock, Matteo says the state still expects to lower its number of SD/FO bridges (23 percent of total combined bridges are SD/FO in Virginia, or 4,816 of 21,061 total bridges in the state). How the States Stack Up: A Look at the Top Five 1. District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.): Washington, D.C., came in this year with the highest percentage of combined SD/FO bridges. Again, like last year, the nation's capital also expects to be able to lower its rate of SD/FO bridges. Don Cooney, infrastructure project management administrator for the District's agency, told Better Roads last year in our Bridge Inventory survey, "all but one of our structurally defi cient bridges is in the District's 'Six-Year Plan' for rehabilitation or construction." (For the 2013 Bridge Inventory, go to betterroads.com/the-state-of-the- nations-bridges.) Cooney reiterated this in this year's survey as well. "All but one of our structurally defi cient bridges is in the Department's Six-Year Plan for rehabilitation or construction," Cooney noted in the Better Roads 2014 Bridge Inventory survey. "Several are under construction. Only lack of funding would affect the program. Insuffi cient fund- ing will delay implementing design and construction of bridge projects." On self-ranking scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the poorest), Cooney gives D.C. a 3.5. Why? "Several re- habilitation projects have been completed and 18 new bridges have been added to the inventory." Washington, D.C., has 209 total bridges, 120 (57 percent) of which are total combined SD/FO.