The rapid collapse of a bridge in Baltimore after it was struck by a large cargo ship highlighted the importance bridges play in the daily lives of many Americans.
Six construction workers on the bridge are estimated to have died. Drivers of his more than 30,000 vehicles that cross the bridge each day must find new routes to bypass or cross the Patapsco River. Additionally, shipping at the Port of Baltimore will be suspended for some time, forcing many companies to find alternative ways to get goods in and out of the United States.
Although the Interstate 895 Bridge in Baltimore was in satisfactory condition before the carrier strike, thousands of other bridges across the United States are in poor condition due to aging piers, beams, and major structural components. is in bad condition.
Here are some takeaways from an Associated Press analysis of more than 621,000 highway bridges over 20 feet long listed on the federal government's National Bridge Inventory.
thousands of poor bridges
Inspectors rate bridges using a scale of 0 to 9, with a 7 or higher considered “good.” A “poor” rating reflects a rating of 4 or less for any part of the bridge's major components. A moderate rating is considered “fair.”
According to the federal government, approximately 42,400 bridges in the United States are in poor condition and carry about 167 million vehicles each day. Those poor bridges are on average 70 years old.
Four-fifths of those poor bridges have problems with the substructure (the legs that support the bridge) or the superstructure (the arms that carry the load). And even 10 years ago, more than 15,800 bridges were listed as being in poor condition, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Iowa has the highest number of poor bridges, followed by Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Missouri.
Why do bridges collapse?
Although unusual, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was not the first bridge to collapse after being struck by a ship. From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses due to ship or barge collisions around the world, resulting in a total of 342 deaths, according to a 2018 report by the World Water Transport Infrastructure Association. Eighteen of the collapses occurred in the United States.
Although rare, bad bridges can eventually collapse.
In January 2022, a bridge collapsed at Fern Hollow Creek in Pittsburgh, injuring the occupants of several vehicles on the bridge, but no one was killed. Federal investigators determined that the bridge's steel legs had corroded, creating visible holes, but inspectors were unable to calculate the severity of the problem and the city failed to follow repeated recommendations.
“This bridge didn't just collapse due to an act of God. It collapsed because of a lack of maintenance and repair,” said National Transportation Safety Board Commissioner Michael Graham.
blow to the economy
When a bridge closes or collapses, there are economic consequences.
In 2007, an Interstate 35 bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others. A state analysis estimates that Minnesota's economy lost $60 million from 2007 to 2008 due to increased travel time and operating costs for commuters and businesses.
Bridges in Providence, Rhode Island and Tacoma, Washington are currently closed due to safety concerns. Nearby businesses suffered as drivers were diverted to alternative routes.
Marco Pacheco, who owns a liquor store along the main road in East Providence's Portuguese neighborhood, said his business income has dropped 20% since the bridge closed late last year. But he's more concerned about the long-term effects.
“Traffic isn't coming back right away. People have reshaped their patterns and thought processes and things like that,” Pacheco said.
Business owners in Washington shared similar concerns about the indefinite closure of the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge in an industrial area near the Port of Tacoma. The nearby Interstate 5 bridge is a good alternative, but many drivers end up hopping off the exit ramp without thinking about nearby stores, such as the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Store.
“Is there a danger?” asked Harley-Davidson store owner Ed Wallace. “Yeah, definitely a very serious issue for me as a business owner.”
federal funding
The massive infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed in 2021 will spend $40 billion on bridges over five years, making it the largest dedicated investment in bridges in decades. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the legislation has already funded more than 7,800 bridge projects.
But that would only alleviate the estimated $319 billion in needed bridge repairs across the country, according to the National Highway Transportation Contractors Association.
“The bottom line is America's bridges need a lot of work,” Buttigieg told The Associated Press after visiting the closed Rhode Island Bridge. He added: “The sooner we can address these critical bridges, the less likely they are to suddenly become unusable or, worse, at risk of collapse.”
