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TO STATE, AND TRANSPORTATION EDITORS:
As Collapse of Federal Support for Highway & Bridge Investment Draws
Near, More than 443 Wyoming Bridges Need Structural Repair, New
Analysis Finds
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Data from a new
government report show that if all the structurally deficient bridges
in the United States were placed end-to-end, it would take you 25
hours driving 60 miles per hour to cross them. That's like driving
the 1,500 miles between Boston and Miami. And it's a problem that's
close to home.
An analysis of the 2013 National Bridge Inventory database released
this month by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) shows
cars, trucks and school buses cross Wyoming's 443structurally
compromised bridges 1,024,959 times every day.
The problem could get a lot worse, the chief economist for the
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) says, as
states across the nation face a slowdown in reimbursements for already
approved federal-aid highway projects in August. Without congressional
action, Dr. Alison Premo Black says there will be no Highway Trust
Fund support for any new road, bridge, or public transportation
projects in any state during FY 2015, which begins October 1.
"Letting the Highway Trust Fund investment dry up would have a
devastating impact on bridge repairs," Black says, noting the trust
fund supports an average $23.2 million annually in Wyoming bridge
work. "It would set back bridge improvements for years."
"The bridge problem sits squarely on the backs of our elected
officials," Black says. "The state transportation department can't
just wave a magic wand and make the problem go away. It takes
committed investment by our legislators. Members of Congress need to
come to grips with that. Some of our most heavily travelled bridges
were built in the 1930s. Most are more than 40 years old."
Bridge decks and support structures are regularly inspected by the
state transportation departments for deterioration and are rated on a
scale of zero to nine-nine being "excellent" condition. A bridge is
classified as structurally deficient and in need of repair if its
overall rating is four or below.
While these bridges may not be imminently unsafe, ARTBA suggests they
be sign posted so the public knows they have structural deficiencies
that need repair.
The ARTBA analysis of the bridge data supplied by the states to the
USDOT found:
-- Wyoming ranks 32nd nationally in its number of structurally
deficient bridges-443.
-- Wyoming ranks 12th in the percentage of its bridges that are
classified as structurally deficient-14.0%.
A list of the 10 structurally deficient bridges in Wyoming that carry
the most traffic daily is available in the "Economics" section of
www.artba.org.
Established in 1902, ARTBA is the "consensus voice" of the U.S.
transportation design and construction industry in the Nation's
Capital.
SOURCE American Road & Transportation Builders Association
-0- 04/24/2014
/CONTACT: Beth McGinn, Dr. Alison Premo Black, Matt Jeanneret, 202.289.4434
/Web Site: http://www.artba.org
CO: American Road & Transportation Builders Association
ST: Wyoming
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0000 04/24/2014 20:10:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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