Lawmakers and Bridge Deficiencies

Whenever the conversation turns toward highways and the cost of maintaining them, the expense of bridge maintenance always seems to stand out. Nationally, the cost of bringing bridges up to acceptable standards has been put in the hundreds of billions of dollars — if not trillions. It’s a staggering figure that only bureaucrats in the federal government can approach with any comfort.

The problem of deficient bridges hit closer to home last week with news that a slab of concrete had come loose on the deck of a bridge on Candlers Mountain Road. It fell to the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks below, causing officials to close the outside westbound lane on the bridge.

That will snarl traffic on the heavily traveled roadway, especially beginning next week when Liberty University opens classes for the new year. The traffic lane is expected to remain closed for several weeks for repairs.

Meanwhile, a glance at data assembled by the Virginia Department of Transportation shows that the bridge on Candlers Mountain Road is not the only one in the city that’s deficient. And with the highway department continuing to cut millions and millions of dollars from its budget, there’s little hope that those bridges will be repaired any time soon.

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Nearly 15 percent of the city’s 92 bridges are rated as “structurally deficient” by bridge inspectors. That does not mean the bridges are unsafe to use or in danger of falling. It does mean that extra attention to their maintenance needs is recommended.

The Candlers Mountain Road bridge over the railroad tracks received a “4” rating for the condition of its deck in a July 24, 2008, inspection. On a scale of 0 to 9, that placed the bridge, which handles some 41,000 vehicles daily, in the “structurally deficient” category.

After VDOT inspectors took another look at the bridge last Friday, the agency released a statement that said: “An initial inspection was conducted and additional areas of concern were noted requiring immediate closure. A more extensive inspection followed and a plan was developed to address the most pressing needs.”

Robert Cary, Lynchburg District administrator for VDOT, emphasized that “the safety of the traveling public is our first priority,” which explains why the westbound lane has been closed.

The bridge is one of 24 in the city maintained by the state. Six of them are rated as structurally deficient. The city itself maintains 68 bridges, eight of which are rated as deficient, according to state data.

And the city is not exactly flush with money to pour into bridge repairs, especially now that it has embarked on the renovation of the D Street Bridge over to Cabell Street.

It becomes clearer almost every day that the state is deficient in putting up the money needed to maintain streets and highways, including bridges. News from the Candlers Mountain Road bridge is but the latest example.