Contact: Paul Haaland or Frank Moretti   (202) 466-6706

ONE IN THREE BRIDGES IN  D.C. METRO REGION NEED IMPROVEMENT

D.C. area’s bridges are showing signs of fatigue due to increasing age and heavy volume of use. Ratings for bridges and data on individual bridges have been taken from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory, which maintains condition data for all bridges 20 feet and longer. TRIP’s ranking of deficient major bridges contains only bridges that carry 10,000 average daily travel or more.

Eds.: A list of the region’s high-volume bridges with the highest deficiency ratings and description of what the ratings mean can be found in Appendices A and B of the study.

WASHINGTON,  April 8, 2003 – Approximately one in three bridges in the D.C. metro region – 635 out of 1,900 bridges -- need repair, or in some cases replacement in order to meet current safety and design standards, according to a national transportation nonprofit research group based in Washington, D.C.

The study, “Bridge Conditions in the Washington D.C. Metro Area: Strategies to improve the condition of our bridges and keep them in good shape,” includes bridges in Washington D.C., Montgomery County and Prince George’s County in Maryland, Fairfax County and Arlington County in Virginia, as well as the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church in Virginia.  

“As this study shows, the Washington D.C. region has significant transportation needs. With local and state transportation funding threatened by budget cuts, the most immediate source of additional funding may be Congress, which is currently debating a new six-year federal transportation program,” said William M. Wilkins, TRIP’s executive director.

An early proposal from transportation leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives would seek a total of $375 billion in transportation funding over the next six years – a 60 percent increase over the current level of funding. This funding would help to make needed road and bridge improvements, improve traffic safety, ease congestion, and provide a long-term economic stimulus.

The TRIP study found that 28 percent of all bridges in the Washington region are functionally obsolete. These bridges no longer meet modern design standards for safety features such as lane widths or alignment with connecting roads or no longer are adequate for the volume of traffic being carried. In addition, 5 percent of bridges in the D.C. area are structurally deficient, showing significant deterioration to decks and other major components.

Significant deterioration exists on many of the Washington area’s most heavily traveled bridges, with many bridges carrying high volumes of traffic in need of either significant rehabilitation or replacement.

Among the most deficient major bridges in the Washington area (those carrying over 10,000 vehicles per day) are the following: Washington Boulevard over Columbia Pike in Arlington; Benning Road over the Anacostia River in Washington; Lee Highway over Little Rocky Run in Fairfax; Kenilworth Avenue over Burroughs Avenue in Washington; the Woodrow Wilson Bridge (which is currently being replaced) over the Potomac River; P Street, N.W. over Rock Creek in Washington (which is currently under construction); I-495 Inner Loop and Outer Loop over MD 187 in Montgomery County; and H.G. Shirley Memorial Highway over Sanger Avenue in Alexandria.

“The condition of our bridges is a visible sign of an aging and overburdened roadway system,” said Wilkins. “The continuing growth in car and truck travel, combined with a possible cut in federal and state highway funding, could further worsen Washington area bridge conditions,” Wilkins said.

“State, county and local governments are doing a better job of preventative maintenance to insure that bridges last longer. However, in most cases, they do not have adequate resources to make the type of costly long-term repairs that many of our heavily-traveled bridges require,” Wilkins said.

Regular bridge maintenance and repair is crucial to maintaining personal and commercial mobility, since bridges form a vital link in the region’s highway system. Keeping bridges in good condition can be enhanced by the use of improved maintenance practices and the use of improved construction materials.

Few bridges are likely to collapse - such bridges are closed or, if they can safely carry lighter traffic volumes, they are posted to prohibit larger vehicles.   The more critical safety problem of older bridges is that they often do not meet current safety standards for lane widths and street and highway approaches (alignments) that may reduce the safety of the bridge.