Apr 15, 2018 4 min read

Almost a decade ago, the state Department of Transportation’s District 12, which includes Washington and Greene counties, had 2,344 structurally deficient bridges.

“Percentage-wise, Pennsylvania was the worst in the nation for having structurally deficient bridges,” said Joseph Szczur, District 12 executive. “The stakes were high. About 1 out of every 3 bridges was considered structurally deficient.”

Recognizing the problem, PennDOT has made a concerted effort to address the problem in recent years. The number of structurally deficient bridges has been reduced to 15.8 percent from almost 30 percent in Washington County the past nine years. In Greene County, the numbers have gone from almost 27 percent in 2009 to 17.6 percent now.

There are 785 PennDOT-maintained bridges in Washington County, and 397 in Greene County. In January 2009, 232 of those spans in Washington and 106 in Greene County were listed as structurally deficient. By the beginning of this year, those numbers had been reduced to 124 in Washington County and 70 in Greene County.

“We have been focusing on drawing down the number of structurally deficient bridges,” Szczur said. To do so, PennDOT had to change its investment strategy.

“About 60 to 70 percent of the money was being spent on road projects,” Szczur said. “That had to be flipped around so the money was being invested in bridge projects.”

“We knew it was going to take some time,” he added. “The goal was to have the number of deficient bridges down to 10 percent by 2030.”

Bridge inspections are done every two years, with the substructure, piers, abutments, superstructures, beams and deck all being evaluated. Bridges with weight restrictions are inspected every year. Szczur said the bridges are then given a rating. A bridge is considered structurally deficient if there is deterioration to one or more of its major components, according to PennDOT. Although deterioration is present, a structurally deficient bridge is safe.

“There comes a time when only so many repairs can be made,” he said. “Once it is given a rating of 4, the whole bridge is replaced.”

Szczur said some of the bridges are small, while others span rivers.

“And we have everything in between,” Szczur said. “Some of the major river crossings were well over 100 years old.”

Most of those bridges that carry local roads over a river have been replaced, with just three remaining to do, Szczur said. The Donora-Webster Bridge was demolished and not replaced. None of the remaining bridges are in Washington or Greene counties.

Some of the smaller bridges that need to be replaced are being done through the Rapid Bridge Replacement project, a public-private partnership between PennDOT and Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners. Over the last three years, 14 bridges were replaced in Washington County and nine in Greene. Three more are set to be done this year in Greene and another 10 in Washington County.

Szczur said each county’s bridge maintenance forces were challenged to replace three structures each year.

“Well over 100 bridges have been replaced since we issued the challenge,” Szczur said. “We have our sights set on doing 70 to 80 more. It has had a huge effect on reducing the number of deficient bridges.”

With more money available to spend on bridges through the increased allocation, crews can also focus on repairing spans so they do not become structurally deficient.

While the numbers are going down, Szczur said about 20 bridges are deemed structurally deficient and added to the list each year.

But Szczur is pleased with the progress that has been made over the last 10 years.

“It continues to be a challenge, but I am excited about what we’ve been able to do,” Szczur said. “This state has gone from being one of the worst when it comes to structurally deficient bridges. Our folks have worked hard to make improvements. I am proud of the way they have handled the challenge.”

PennDOT is not alone in the challenge to repair or replace structurally deficient bridges. In the last few years, Washington County has doubled the money it spends on bridge maintenance, said Lisa Cessna, director of the planning commission.

“We have $300,000 to $400,000 to spend for maintaintance, compared to the $150,000 we used to have in the budget,” Cessna said. “We are starting to do more in-house and with a welder we have under contract.”

Cessna said the county maintains 122 bridges that are open to traffic.

“Unfortunately, some are considered to have a sufficiency rating of less than 50 percent,” Cessna said. “But that can be a bit of a misnomer and are capable of handling the traffic that uses them.”

The sufficiency rating is a calculated score indicating a bridge’s ability to meet the traffic demands and safety needs for the route it carries, according to PennDOT. The county has about 30 bridges with that designation.