Albany Bridge Conditions News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Report Available at: tripnet.org

Contact:
Carolyn Bonifas Kelly 703.801.9212 (cell)
Rocky Moretti 202.262.0714 (cell)
TRIP office 202.466.6706

NEW REPORT IDENTIFIES CAPITAL REGION BRIDGES MOST IN NEED OF REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT. APPROXIMATELY 350,000 VEHICLES PER DAY CROSS REGION’S POOR/ STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT BRIDGES; EIGHT PERCENT OF CAPITAL REGION BRIDGES ARE RATED POOR/STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT AND 57 PERCENT ARE RATED FAIR.

Eds.: TRIP has prepared a statewide report on bridge conditions throughout New York as well as regional reports for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, Binghamton, Buffalo, Hudson Valley, Long Island, New York City, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica areas. The reports include a list of bridges in each area with the lowest average rating for the condition of the deck, superstructure and substructure, and a list of each area’s most heavily traveled poor/structurally deficient bridges. Infographics are available here.

Albany, NY – Eight percent of bridges in the Capital Region are rated in poor/structurally deficient condition, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation research nonprofit. This includes bridges 20 feet or longer and encompasses Albany, Rensselaer and Saratoga Counties. A bridge is rated poor/structurally deficient if there is significant deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components.

The TRIP report, “Preserving Capital Region Bridges: The Condition and Funding Needs of the Capital Region’s Aging Bridge System,” finds that in the Capital Region, 68 of the 839 bridges are rated in poor/structurally deficient condition –eight percent. Capital Region bridges that are poor/structurally deficient carry 350,373 vehicles per day.  Poor/structurally deficient bridges may be posted for lower weight limits or closed if their condition warrants such action. Deteriorated bridges can have a significant impact on daily life. Restrictions on vehicle weight may cause many vehicles – especially emergency vehicles, commercial trucks, school buses and farm equipment – to use alternate routes to avoid weight-restricted bridges. Redirected trips also lengthen travel time, waste fuel and reduce the efficiency of the local economy.

Fifty-seven percent (477 of 839) of locally and state-maintained bridges in the Capital Region have been rated in fair condition.  A fair rating indicates that a bridge’s structural elements are sound, but minor deterioration has occurred to the bridge’s deck, substructure or superstructure. The remaining 35 percent (294 of 839) of the area’s bridges are rated in good condition.

Statewide, ten percent (1,757 of 17,521) of bridges are rated poor/structurally deficient, while 53 percent (9,364 of 17,521) are rated in fair condition and the remaining 37 percent (6,400 of 17,521) are in good condition.

“Maintaining safe and stable infrastructure is critically important to all New Yorkers. Every day, thousands of people travel through our state on what are often poor and structurally deficient roads and bridges,” said Senator Tim Kennedy, chairman of the New York State Senate Committee on Transportation. “Now more than ever we need to ensure that we’re dedicating resources to local infrastructure that is desperately in need of repair and maintenance. Taxpayer dollars must be put to work to improve our local community. I will continue to work with local stakeholders and continue to fight for additional funding to improve our roads and bridges.”

The chart below details the 10 most heavily traveled poor/structurally deficient bridges in the Capital Region. A list of the 25 most heavily traveled poor/structurally deficient bridges in the region can be found in the report. The report’s Appendix also includes the ratings for each bridge’s deck, substructure and superstructure.  The chart also indicates whether the bridge is open to traffic, posted, which restricts use to lighter vehicles or closed to traffic.

 

The following 10 poor/structurally deficient bridges in the Capital Region (carrying a minimum of 500 vehicles per day) have the lowest average rating for deck, substructure and superstructure. Each major component of a bridge is rated on a scale of zero to nine, with a score of four or below indicating poor condition. If a bridge receives a rating of four or below for its deck, substructure or superstructure, it is rated as poor/structurally deficient. A list of the 25 bridges in the Capital Region with the lowest average rating for major bridge components is included in the report.

“The TRIP Report underscores what highway superintendents throughout the state understand about the condition of many of our local bridges. Poor bridge condition ratings negatively impact functionality, time of travel, safety, the local economy and the overall experience of the traveling public,” said Dennis S. Davis, president of the New York State County Highway Superintendents Association. “With many aging bridges more than 70 years old, not to mention tens of thousands of culverts also requiring immediate reconstruction or replacement, we face a situation in desperate need of increased public investment and a concerted effort on the part of all levels of government to address the funding demands of our aging and ailing transportation systems.”

“As in past years, once again the facts contained in this report speak for themselves,” said Mark Eagan, President and CEO of the Capital Region Chamber.  “Time is running out.  It is of the upmost importance that elected officials make increased funding for transportation infrastructure a top priority.  Without it, our region’s economy will suffer.”

“New York’s bridges are a critical component of the state’s transportation system, providing connections for personal mobility, economic growth and quality of life,” said Will Wilkins, TRIP’s executive director. “Without increased and reliable transportation funding, numerous projects to improve and preserve aging bridges in the Capital Region and statewide will not move forward, hampering New York’s ability to efficiently and safety move people and goods.”