BAD BRIDGE MONITOR MAP
LOIS WEISS
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Friday, August 03, 2012 -
This week marks the fifth anniversary of the terrible collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis that killed 13 people and injured 145. To ensure politicians stay focused on infrastructure needs, New York City-based attorney Barry LePatner, the author of “Too Big Too Fall,” has now launched a Google map at www.SaveOurBridges.com showing the sites of 7,980 U.S. bridges that are both fracture critical and structurally deficient. Without significant maintenance, repair or replacement, LePatner says these too “will succumb to gravity and every one of these bridges will fall over time.” LePatner built his database around a 2009 Federal Highway Administration report that revealed that of 600,000 US bridges, 72,000 are rated “structurally deficient,” 18,000 are “fracture critical” while 7,980 fall into both categories. The repair cost for these most dangerous bridges is estimated at between $30 and $60 billion. But LePatner wonders, why don’t those in charge of funding at least start fixing a few small ones that would only cost $1 million or so to make safe? Locally, expensive fixes include the Henry Hudson Bridge, which always seems to have construction work ongoing; portions of the elevated West Side Highway at 59th St. (remember the southern portions were previously torn down and this section is also supposed to be moved and “buried” under the Riverside South project), approaches to the Gowanus, and of course, the dreaded Tappan Zee. “In this political year, no one can go around and say our bridges are safe,” said LePatner. As LePatner warns, the Tappan Zee is a fracture-critical bridge and if any component fails, it will take down the rest of the 2.5 mile long structure along with every vehicle and person on it at that time. Three bids to both design and construct a replacement crossing for the Tappan Zee that will result in 45,000 jobs came in on July 27th. While the state estimates the price at $5.2 billion but the actual bid prices are yet to be revealed. “The scary of all scaries is the Tappan Zee,” LePatner says. “You shouldn’t go over it any more than necessary.”
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