Los Angeles and Orange counties dominated a list of the nation’s most heavily traveled structurally deficient bridges in an annual report card released Wednesday. Six of the worst seven can be found along Interstate 110.
The Inland region fared better, with one of Riverside County’s bridges rated 88th in the report compiled by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. No San Bernardino County bridge cracked the list of the 250 bridges of most concern.
Still, the report stated that 78 bridges in San Bernardino County and 14 in Riverside County were classified as structurally deficient, based on data collected in 2016.
The report branded as deficient more than 55,000 bridges in the U.S.
“There are definitely some challenges out in California,” said Alison Premo Black, chief economist for the Washington, D.C.-based research group.
Black said there are huge implications.
“Some of these are very well-traveled interstates, part of our national freight network,” she said. “There are some economic repercussions when these bridges aren’t performing as they should be.”
It used to be worse
Despite the words of warning, California’s bridge scenario has improved, the report’s rankings revealed.
California had the nation’s fifth-highest number of structurally deficient bridges in 2013 before sliding to sixth place in 2014, 10th in 2015 and, in this year’s report documenting 2016 information, to 14th.
Last year, California had 1,388 structurally deficient bridges, representing 5.5 percent of the state’s 25,431 spans. The report said California had more than 2,000 bad bridges the year before.
It’s hardly surprising that many remaining deficient bridges are in Los Angeles and Orange counties, said Hasan Ikhrata, executive director for the Southern California Association of Governments, a six-county regional planning agency.
“We had the biggest infrastructure-building program in the country in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and we haven’t done a good job maintaining that,” Ikhrata said.
Black said bridges are designed to last 40 to 60 years, and when they age, problems surface.
“We have many bridges performing beyond their design life,” she said.
And, of course, it doesn’t help that Southern California has been hammered repeatedly — and is about to get pounded again — by rain, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the start of this decade. That’s not doing bridges any favor.
Not about to fall apart
Officials said the report isn’t reason, though, for motorists to panic and worry about their safety on commutes to the office or drives to the beach.
“That doesn’t mean they are going to fall apart tomorrow,” Ikhrata said.
But, he said, it means the bridges could be more vulnerable in floods “or, God forbid, an earthquake.”
Former Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Glendale, said it also translates into a jarring ride.
Gatto said Los Angeles County’s prominence on the list came as no shock to him.
“I’m on the same roads and bridges every day,” he said. “It’s very palpable to my spinal column.”
The report analyzed the nation’s bridges and found that nearly 56,000 were structurally deficient. Notable examples were the Brooklyn Bridge and Washington’s Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Besides the half-dozen bridges along the 110 Freeway, the list highlighted Orange County’s 55 Freeway at Santiago Creek and several spans of the 22 Freeway.
Coming in at 88th worst was the 60 Freeway near Riverside where it bridges a set of railroad tracks just west of Opal Street.
Not enough money
While no San Bernardino County overpass cracked the top 250, 78, or 6 percent, of the county’s 1,406 bridges were classified as structurally deficient.
In Los Angeles County, 207, or 6 percent, of 3,546 bridges were deemed structurally deficient.
In Orange County, 30, or 3 percent, of 1,158 bridges were said to be deficient.
Of Riverside County’s 1,091 bridges, the report said 14 were deficient.
“Structurally deficient” means one or more of a bridge’s central elements — the deck, superstructure or substructure — is considered to be in poor condition, the report stated.
“Infrastructure in Riverside County is deteriorating,” said Anne Mayer, Riverside County Transportation Commission executive director. “There isn’t enough money to keep bridges in a good state of repair.”
Indeed, Gatto said, the report is another reminder of the need for California policy makers to find a way to boost funding for transportation maintenance.
Reactionary society
“I think it’s a tough time to ask Californians to shell out more in taxes,” he said, noting that voters approved a ballot measure in November to extend state taxes that were originally sold as temporary measures to fill holes in the state budget.
But, he said, “This will increase the calls for us to do something this year.”
Just maybe, this is where California leaders could benefit from the Donald Trump presidency. In perhaps the only thing the president and Gov. Jerry Brown agree on the need for, Trump has proposed to invest in infrastructure — up to $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
According to state officials, there is a backlog of California road and bridge fixes that exceeds $130 billion.
In 2015, Brown convened a special session to explore options for shoring up financing for transportation, in an era of declining revenue largely due to efficient cars that burn less and, in some cases, no gas. But that concluded in November without a deal.
Legislative leaders are trying again this year, proposing a fix that would raise $6 billion for roads and bridges.
In any event, something needs to be done, Ikhrata said.
“We are a reactionary society,” he said. “We wait for things to happen. And we should be proactive and set aside some money to fix the structures that are old.”
Staff Writer Anne Millerbernd contributed to this report.
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