Bridge Report Singles Out Bay Area Bridges

By Bay City News Service

One in five Bay Area bridges is marked by the federal government as high-priority for monitoring and repair, according to a report released today by a national transportation organization.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Transportation for America
found the region had more "structurally deficient" bridges than the national
average, the report said.

The bridges have significant wear and tear or defects to at least
one part, and they will continue to deteriorate over time, Transportation for
America representatives said today during a conference call.

"Structurally deficient isn't inherently a danger," spokesman Ryan
Wiggins said. "It's a process. Long-term maintenance of the bridge will
lengthen its life."

Transportation for America has found that deferring maintenance of
bridges and highways can cost three times as much as preventive repairs and
that repair work on roads and bridges creates 16 percent more jobs than new
construction, its representatives said.

The group called on Congress to invest more in infrastructure,
which it said would stimulate the economy in addition to preventing the cost
of bridge repairs from escalating.

Joe Cruz, director of transportation policy for the construction
worker association California Alliance for Jobs, said investing in bridge
repairs could generate 18,000 jobs in the state.

He said the state unemployment rate in the construction industry
is about 35 percent, thanks in part to 320,000 construction jobs lost in
California since 2007.

"Investment in infrastructure is a proven way to stimulate the
economy," he said, citing U.S. Department of Transportation numbers that
found $1 billion in infrastructure investment yielded $5 billion in economic
activity.

Most bridges are designed to last about 50 years, but the average
bridge age in California is 44.4 years, according to Transportation for
America.

The group found that San Francisco had the highest percentage of
structurally deficient bridges in the Bay Area, with 40 out of 116, or 34.5
percent, falling into that category.

Next was Alameda County with 130 out of 601 bridges, or 21.6
percent, followed by San Mateo County with 74 out of 344 bridges, or 21.5
percent.

Napa County had the fewest structurally deficient bridges both
percentage-wise and overall with 23 out of 150, or 15.3 percent, deemed
deficient.

Caltrans, which inspects, maintains, and preserves roughly 24,000
state and local bridges, issued a response today that emphasized its "robust
bridge management program" designed "to ensure our state bridges are safe."

While the agency said it recognized the critical role that bridges
play in the state economy, the statement said that "protecting this valuable
asset is becoming a challenge due to the effects of age and increasing
demand."

Caltrans echoed the need for sound long-term federal investment in
infrastructure to "keep millions of motorists and billions of dollars of
commerce moving."