Bridge Reports spark worry in Burke County

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

MORGANTON - The impact of the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis last week hit home in Burke County, prompting leaders to think about better maintaining their bridges.

Burke County, according to AAA of the Carolinas, has the highest percentage of substandard bridges in the state.

"This is alarming," said state Sen. Jim Jacumin, who represents Burke and Caldwell. "At one time, we were known for our good roads, and now we're known for our bad roads and bridges."

In Burke, 23 of the county's 181 bridges are deficient, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. A structurally deficient bridge isn't necessarily unsafe but is characterized as having deteriorating conditions and requiring frequent maintenance.

Statewide, 2,186 of 12,596 bridges are structurally deficient.

While DOT reports focus on structurally deficient bridges, the automobile association looks at a broader set of standards. It produces a report each year to highlight the need for more funding, said Tom Crosby, a spokesman for AAA.

"Obsolete might mean that the bridge is fine, but the amount of traffic that goes over it is more than it was designed for," he said. "It can be good structurally but doesn't meet the traffic needs."

The association's most recent survey, released in February, is based on DOT data and reported that 30.6 percent of the state's bridges - including pipes and culverts that bear traffic - are in poor shape or not big enough to adequately handle traffic.

The percentage of substandard bridges is above average in two Unifour counties: Burke, with 45.1 percent, and Caldwell, with 36.9 percent. Caldwell ranks 22nd among the 100 N.C. counties in the AAA report; Alexander, with 28.2 percent, ranks 55th, and Catawba, with 26 percent, ranks 70th.

But the automobile association reported that the percentage of bridges deemed substandard in the Catawba Valley has been getting better in recent years.

Since 2001, Alexander, Catawba and Caldwell counties have steadily decreased their number of substandard bridges.

Even Burke, which has ranked among the worst in the state for the past six years, has gotten marginally better. In 2006, 47 percent of the county's bridges were deemed deficient by the association, and 45.3 percent were substandard in 2005 and 2004.

The organization stresses, though, that no state bridge is in imminent danger of collapsing or poses a threat to motorists.

"We don't want people to get freaked out and say, `Oh my God, the bridge is going to collapse,'" said Jayne Cannon, a spokesperson for AAA of the Carolinas. "It's so rare but I do hope that (what happened in Minneapolis) is a wake-up call."

Most of the bridges in the Unifour carry only a few thousand cars per week, though some carry a few thousand a day, and DOT maintenance crews regularly check bridges to make sure they're safe to drive across.

In January, transportation engineers closed and repaired the U.S. 127 bridge over the Catawba River - ranked the most substandard span in Catawba County by AAA - after crews discovered cracks in the span.

While none of Burke's bridges rank among the very worst in the state, local leaders said they had no idea so many bridges were in need of repair.

Jacumin, who learned of Burke's ranking on Thursday, said he plans on drafting a letter to transportation officials to highlight problems with bridges.

"What happened up North brings it home for all of us," he said, "and I am certainly going to remind them all of that."


Subpar Bridges in the Unifour
AAA deemed nearly 5,500 bridges and culverts functionally obsolete and structurally deficient using Department of Transportation data. This is what the group found in the Unifour.

Burke County
The 51-year-old westbound bridge of U.S. 64 and N.C. 18 crosses the Catawba River and was ranked worst in the county. About 154,000 vehicles pass over it each week.

The N.C. 181 bridge that spans the Catawba River was ranked the county's second-worst bridge. It is 51 years old and carries about 22,000 vehicles each day.

Caldwell County
The U.S. 321 bridge that crosses Dudley Shoals Road was ranked the county's worst bridge. It was built in 1953, and about 122,500 vehicles pass over it every week.

Alexander County
The 65-year-old N.C. 127 bridge crosses Duck Creek, and at No. 1659 on the statewide list, was ranked the county's worst. About 4,500 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

Catawba County
The N.C. 127 bridge that spans the Catawba River into Alexander County was ranked as Catawba County's worst. It was built in 1986 and carries about 140,000 vehicles each week.


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