District bridges need repair | Washington Examiner

12/20/11 2:25 PM

District bridges need repair

By: Erica Redmond | 03/30/11 7:05 PM Special To The Washington Examiner

The District has a higher percentage of bridges in need of repair than the national average, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report by Transportation for America, a transportation advocacy group, found 30 of the District's 244 bridges are structurally deficient. That's 12.3 percent compared with the 11 percent national average. Bridges in Maryland and Virginia are in better shape than their counterparts nationwide, with just 9.4 percent of Virginia bridges and 6.9 percent of Maryland's bridges in poor condition. The two worst bridges in Virginia are in Richmond, while Maryland's worst are in Baltimore. A spokesman for the D.C. Department of Transportation said fixing bridges is one of the agency's top priorities. "You just need to look around you to see the work that we're doing to restore and replace bridges we have," John Lisle said. "We have been making very steady progress on replacing our older bridges, or at least rehabilitating them."
The region's worst bridges DISTRICT
14th Street Bridge northbound. Average daily traffic: 93,100. Key Bridge. Average daily traffic: 62,000.

14th Street Bridge. In Washington, DC on Wednesday March 30, 2011. Andrew Harnik/Examiner

DDOT just announced a New York Avenue bridge rehabilitation project while the city is replacing the 11th Street bridges and rehabilitating the northbound 14th Street Bridge -which the report listed as one of the two busiest bridges in need of repair in the city. The Key Bridge was the other, and Lisle said DDOT anticipates the repair of that bridge as well. James Corless, director of Transportation for America, said knowing a bridge is at risk does not mean the bridge should be avoided. Instead, it is a sign that the bridge needs repair, rehabilitation or rebuilding. "A structurally deficient bridge does not mean it is an unsafe bridge. If it is unsafe, it will be closed, but it is a warning sign," Corless said. The group ranks structural efficiency on a scale of

N. VIRGINIA
Washington Boulevard crossing Route 110 in Arlington County. Average daily traffic: 55,615. Washington Boulevard crossing Columbia Pike in Arlington County. Average daily traffic: 67,000.

MARYLAND
Cherry Hill Road crossing Little Paint Branch in Prince George's County. Average daily traffic: 21,210. Bock Road crossing Henson Creek in Prince George's County. Average daily traffic: 11,650.

0 to 9, with 9 being the best. A bridge is considered structurally deficient when an engineer rates at least one of three bridge components at 4 or below, meaning they have identified a major defect. The three areas are: the deck, the surface of the bridge; the superstructure, which supports the deck; and the substructure, which uses the ground to support the superstructure. Montgomery County was ranked among the best in Maryland with only 4.2 percent of bridges deficient. Despite being 95.8 percent proficient, Arlington County has three bridges that were rated poorly by engineers in all three components. A spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation said two of the three bridges will be under construction soon. A bridge on Glebe Road over Route 50 will have its deck replaced this spring, and replacement of the Washington Boulevard bridge over Columbia Pike is scheduled to start within the next year. No area jurisdictions made the list of the 100 worst counties.

URL: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/03/district-bridges-need-repair

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