Politics & Government

Philly Area Bridges Third Worst in Nation

Study reports that 20 percent of Philadelphia area bridges are deficient.

About 20 percent of bridges in the Philadelphia area are deficient, according to a study released Wednesday by Transportation for America. Although that doesn't mean one in five bridges is unsafe, what the study does note is improvement is needed.

Pennsylvania faired worst of all states, with six metropolitan areas possessing a high percentage of deficient bridges. Pittsburgh tops that list with 30 percent of area bridges rated deficient—higher even than the state average of 26.5 percent.

That's not to say Philadelphia got off easy. While, Pittsburgh ranked No. 1 in terms of deficient bridges in metro areas with more than 2 million people, Philadelphia was third nationwide at 20 percent, right behind San Francisco. 

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McDonald's restaurants in America: 14,000, serving 64 million daily ... Deficient bridges nationwide: 18,239, serving 210 million daily.

Regionally, various bridges on the area's major highways—like I-76, I-95 and I-476—were marked as deficient.

In Montgomery County itself 232 bridges were labeled deficient, including the following for Wynnewood:

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  • Remington Road over Indian Creek (built: 1955)
  • College Avenue over SEPTA bridge (built: 1931)

Additionally, PennDOT has marked many local areas for bridge replacement or renovations, according to the PennDOT TIP Visualization map.

According to the study: "It is important to note that these numbers would be worse without the intensive bridge repair program implemented by Pennsylvania in the last several years, including a quadrupling of state funding for bridge repairs."

To put the nation's shoddy bridge conditions in perspective, the study juxtaposed the number of McDonalds nationwide (approximately 14,000) with deficient bridges (18,239). Furthermore, those fast-food joints serve 64 million customers daily, while the bridges service 210 million people everyday.

Leach: State Legislature to Address Problem

In addition, Pennsylvania is currently facing a $25 million revenue shortfall, State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17, Montgomery/Delaware counties) told the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners on Wednesday night. (Leach, who said he tries to come before all the boards in the townships he represents, gave the board an update on what is happening in Harrisburg when he spoke during a public comment portion of the meeting.)

The Pennsylvania State Senate and House of Representative will be addressing the issue of transportation funding during the next few weeks, said State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17, Montgomery/Delaware counties), addressing the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners on Wednesday night.

The state will be focusing on how to fund repairs and maintenance, and public transportation “will be less of a priority” Leach said, in responses to a question from Commissioner George Manos.

80 Bridges Under Construction

Confirming the study's figures, PennDOT spokesperson Eugene Blaum said the state was aware of deficient bridges and is always working on renovations. "In Pennsylvania, bridge construction expenditures (including bridges built, rebuilt, or preserved) has more than tripled since 2002. Also, the number of bridges built or rebuilt has also tripled over the same time period," he wrote in an email Thursday.

Currently, approximately 80 bridges in the five-county Philadelphia area are under construction, he said. Statewide, he said there are "5,000 structurally deficient bridges, 42 are closed and 669 are weight-restricted."

It is important to note, he and the study's writers said, that "deficient" does not equate to "unsafe."

"(S)tructurally deficient means that the bridge has deterioration to one or more of its major components.  Although deterioration is present, a structurally deficient bridge is safe. If not, the bridge would be closed," he said.

Cataloging bridges nationwide, the Washington, DC-based Transportation for America analyzed the National Bridge Inventory Data, and worked in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.


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