Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

State’s, nation’s bridges are coming into repair

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

In the past decade Nevada, like much of the rest of the nation, has made strides in repairing and replacing bridges that failed to meet safety standards.

"We don't have that many bridges in the state that are in need of repair because most of the ones we have are new," said Bob McKenzie, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Transportation. "And, especially in Southern Nevada, they are over land, not water," which deteriorates bridges.

"We also don't have many problems because most of the state's bridges are concrete reinforced, unlike the metal and wooden bridges you see in New England and in other places that are affected by coastal conditions."

This Friday the second half of the Decatur bridge over U.S. 95 will come down, paving the way for the completion of the $20 million Decatur/Valley View bridges project sometime this fall, McKenzie said.

It is the largest ongoing local bridge replacement project. The first half of the bridge came down on Feb. 8 and the Valley View part of the project was completed earlier this year. U.S. 95 will be rerouted via the on/off ramps from 10 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Sunday.

It is such federally funded projects that have contributed to the 18 percent decrease in bad bridges nationwide between 1992 and 2002 and a 6.3 percent decrease in Nevada, according to an Associated Press computer analysis of Federal Highway Administration data.

Billions of federal highway dollars over the last decade have been earmarked for repairing or replacing bridges.

The number of bridges considered deficient -- they need repairs, cannot adequately handle traffic loads or do not meet safety standards -- declined from 199,090 in 1992 to 163,010 in 2002.

The new total still amounts to 28 percent of the nation's bridges.

In Nevada the number of bridges in need of repair in 1992 was 238. As of last year the figure stood at 223. McKenzie said that nearly all of those bridges were in rural counties, and few, if any, were on state highways.

Although the figures locally and nationally are encouraging, experts are concerned that so many bridges still are in need of work after so much money has been spent.

"It seems like we have a tremendously long way to go," said Mantill Williams, a spokesman for the AAA motor clubs. "The longer we wait, the more expensive it's going to get."

The drop in deficient bridges coincided with passage of two federal transportation bills that earmarked $36.5 billion for repairs beginning in 1992 -- more than double the $15.3 billion allocated during the previous decade.

The total amount of federal money spent annually on repairing or replacing Nevada bridges was not immediately available early today.

Congress is preparing to renew legislation that determines how much federal money flows to states to build and repair roads and bridges. The current six-year bill expires Sept. 30.

The Bush administration has proposed increasing highway and transit funding by 13 percent, to $247 billion over the next six years. House Transportation Committee chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, has said that's not enough and has discussed an increase in the gasoline tax to raise more money. Young wants to spend $375 billion over six years.

While federal lawmakers debate how much to spend, some state governments, already facing budget shortfalls, are cutting back. Maryland and Kansas have diverted money from transportation projects for other government services, and Wisconsin is considering it.

Failure to make timely fixes to aging bridges can have deadly consequences. Three people died in November when a century-old bridge across the Chickasawhay River collapsed in Waynesboro, Miss. A replacement bridge was being built nearby at the time.

Sun reporter

Ed Koch and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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