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Thursday, June 26, 2003

By Joe Grata, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

In the "City of Bridges," more than half of them are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, a research group has reported.

The Road Information Program, called TRIP, a construction industry-supported group based in Washington, D.C., reported that 29 percent of Pittsburgh area bridges were deficient and another 29 percent were obsolete. The group held news conferences in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia yesterday to call attention to a situation it estimates would cost $7 billion to correct statewide.

TRIP identified Pennsylvania as No. 3 nationally, behind Oklahoma and Rhode Island, as having the worst bridges, including too narrow and weight-restricted spans with deteriorating decks and structural problems.

Within Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh area posted the worst showing, with a total of 58 percent of its bridges bad and outdated, followed by Philadelphia and Allentown-Bethlehem at 47 percent.

Paul Haaland, TRIP policy director, blamed the region's bridge problem on the age of the structures -- half are 50 years old or older -- weather extremes and a constant pounding from an increasing number of trucks. But he said the bridges are checked regularly and drivers should not be fearful of crossing them.

No bridge was singled out as worst in the region, but a Top 25 list included the Rankin Bridge, Route 28 bridges in Etna, the short, 90-year-old Heths Run Bridge near the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, and the Route 51-88 intersection in Overbrook, under which two streams converge in culverts out of sight of motorists.

Yesterday's report was reminiscent of other road and bridge status reports compiled by TRIP over the years, all typically concluding that higher taxes and more money are needed to address transportation infrastructure problems.

"The percentage [of bad bridges] basically is the same as five years ago," Haaland said. "While the problem is not worse, we've been unable to get ahead of it."

Of 1,210 bridges in the Pittsburgh region included for the report, based on information from the Federal Highway Administration, the 29 percent deemed to be functionally obsolete are those that don't meet modern design standards for safety, such as for lane widths, alignments with roads or capacity.

"The report highlights the need to improve our infrastructure in Pennsylvania," said Joe Kirk, president of the Mon Valley Progress Council and a coalition promoting toll road expansion projects.

Asked if money earmarked for new construction might be better spent on the state's bridge problems, he said such a possibility is not an option.

"It's not an either-or issue," Kirk said. "We need good bridges and we need new capacity to make our region well-connected. They're necessary to grow our economy."

Ron Geist, managing director of the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association, another industry-financed group, said in remarks distributed at the news conferences:

"Without additional dollars, Pennsylvania's bridges will continue to deteriorate, making a bad situation even worse. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is staring at a bleak outlook concerning its future transportation funding and [it] cannot remedy this situation unless a new influx of transportation dollars can be found."

Chairmen of the state Senate and House Transportation committees said the TRIP findings underscore the need for additional funding for bridges and acknowledged they may advocate increasing state gasoline taxes to raise the money.

How much of an increase is "still in negotiation," said Sen. Roger Madigan, R-Bradford, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and was joined in the Harrisburg news conference by farmers, colleagues, township supervisors and emergency medical workers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Joe Grata can be reached at jgrata@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1985.