Deficient and Obsolete Bridges in the US

[Sharon Faulkner]

Non-cave related:

Jennifer posted this link on the Huntsville Grotto Yahoo Group and in light of recent events, thought others might be interested in checking out their state's bridges.

The interactive map shows deficient and obsolete bridges in the US. You can select states and counties to look at bridge ratings. Don't look at it if you drive over the Tennessee River Bridge on highway 231...

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20093413/

[Brian Roebuck]

The Horrah!

Just remember to drive as fast as you can across those old bridges to minimize your time exposed to danger! Pedal to the metal!

[L Roebuck]

Um...that's kind of scary after all the recent news reports about the bridge collapse.

I think I'll take Dr. Beaner's bridge advice. FLOOR IT!!

[Azurerana]

I think this is a deficient and obsolete STORY.

a) The data is two years old (see report 2005 data). (For example: one bridge in my town has had a complete upgrade since then.)
b) It countradicts what is being reported in the Missouri local news from MoDot.
c) The bridge rating agencies are also the agencies who authorize construction of bridges. They have a *vested interest* to say bridges are obsolete, in order to keep themselves in business as agencies.
d) If you look at the data, there are many bridges with good to excellent numerical ratings (non-deficient) which some engineer has declared "Obsolete" because they cannot accomodate 53' long tractor-trailer rigs.
e) The truly horrid bridges are on county roads, lettered highways, etc. And they are not on the list. We've got plenty of one lane bridges here, and 100 year old overhead truss bridges which don't make the list. For example: Bend Bridge on Hwy. N just out of town. It is a one-lane bridge, with a blind approach due to the road rising beyond the line of sight from one end (you cannot see who is on the bridge until you are there) and a 90 degree square turn at the other. If you don't make the 90 degree turn , about 50 feet from the other end of the superstructure you WILL crash into a limestone bluff. This bridge is barely wide enough for a modern school bus. Out of town semis get caught back there and jackknifed with regularity, and oh, in the last 6-7 years about 5 people (mostly drunk teenagers) have died.
Now, that's a 'deficient' bridge, not every bridge on I-55 in Missouri.
f) I think there are just deficient drivers out there.

[Sharon Faulkner]

Not an obsolete or deficient story at all Azurerana. The information may be outdated for Missouri bridges, but the information on the pulldown page for Alabama bridges was updated on August 3, 2007. Seems recent enough for me. ;D

As near as I can determine, nationwide bridge evaluations are not performed annually, so the latest data on this list may have been compiled from studies completed in 2005, but it appears from each state's pulldown menu that the bridge assesments are updated by the state's DOT after repairs are completed.