As Collapse of Federal Support for Highway & Bridge Investment Draws Near, More than 443 Wyoming Bridges Need Structural Repair, New Analysis Finds


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[IN] TRN CST

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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

IN: TRN CST

SU: AVO SVY STP EXE

PRN

-- DC11762 --

0000 04/24/2014 20:10:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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