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Deficient Bridges Common in Maine, Oxford County

October 17, 2011 - County — Unsound bridges are common in Maine, which is the twelfth-worst state in the nation by that measure, according to advocacy group Transportation for America (TFA).

In a new report, the organization has spotlighted a series of structurally-deficient bridges in Oxford County, which is home to the busiest deficient bridge in Maine.

That honor goes to a bridge which spans the Wild River on Route 2 in Bethel, where it supports more than 30,000 vehicles each day.

The report includes four structurally deficient bridges in Sumner, two in Waterford, two in Oxford, and one each in Paris, Greenwood, and Otisfield.

Paris Town Manager Phil Tarr said that the problem won't go away without spending considerable resources.

"Absolutely, we should be concerned," he said. "Road wear and tear, bridges included, is progressive. It doesn't stop. It doesn't improve on its own."

A structurally deficient bridge is one that scores a four or lower on one of its three components – deck, superstructure, or substructure – during a federally-recognized inspection.

The low score means that it needs significant maintenance, rehabilitation, or replacement, according to TFA.

In all, according to TFA, Maine has 369 structurally deficient bridges, out of a total of about 2,400 bridges. That amounts to 15.4 percent, which places Maine among the worst in the nation.

The national average is 11.5 percent.

Aging bridges

Many of the bridges are in trouble not because of poor engineering, but because they are simply getting old.

"Age has something to do with it," said Tarr.

Indeed, the youngest structurally deficient bridge in the area, on Purdy Drive in Waterford, was built in 1960. The oldest is on Gammon Road in Sumner, which was built to span the east branch of the Nezinscot in 1922.

Most were built in the '20s and '30s.

"Nearly half of the state's bridges were constructed more than 50 years ago," reads a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). "Many of these bridges were only designed to last approximately 50 years before requiring significant repairs or replacement."

An older bridge also faces a different, related problem. Engineers in the 1920s built their bridges to handle certain kinds of traffic.

"Some of them used to be cow paths," said Tarr. "You had a Model T Ford on it."

Today's traffic can be much heavier.

"It's the weight of the trucks," said Tarr. "When a bridge is overused by logging trucks ... that's going to have a huge impact on the integrity of the structure."

ASCE gave Maine a score of D+ in a December, 2008 report, and said that the Maine Department of Transportation faces a $440 million-funding gap to address the issue.

Usage and scores

The amount of use on the bridges varies wildly. The Purdy Drive bridge is traveled on by an estimated 10 cars per day, while a deficient bridge on Route 121 in Oxford carries nearly 5,000 people a day across the Little Androscoggin River.

The worst-scoring bridge in the area, on Cross Street in Waterford, carries an average of 124 vehicles a day.

It scored a three on its superstructure, a four on its substructure, and a five on its deck. The scores can range from one to 10, with four or lower demonstrating a deficiency.

The substructure of a bridge is the portion that extends from the ground to the bottom of the girders, and can include pilings and columns. The superstructure is largely made up of the girders, while the deck is the relatively thin layer that directly supports traffic.

National problem

The bridges have been a problem for the federal government for years despite massive amounts of money being spent to repair them, according to the report.

"For years, the federal government has run a special bridge repair program, but a combination of the program's shortcomings and the sheer growth in aging bridges has prevented its success," said the report. "Between 1992 and 2010, the number of vehicles traveling across structurally deficient bridges declined just two percent, despite billions of dollars spent annually on bridge construction and repair."

New Hampshire, ranking number 11, and Rhode Island, at number four, are the only other states in the Northeast that ranked in the top 20. Worst in the nation is Pennsylvania, where 26.5 percent of the state's bridges are structurally deficient.

The data for the report was culled from the Federal Highway Administration's 2010 National Bridge Inventory, which includes information on 700,000 bridges nationwide.

TFA also finds that Maine has a higher-than-average percent of bad roads, with 11 percent in "poor" condition, as compared to a national average of 5.8 percent.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, Advertiser Democrat, October 2011


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