Oklahoma Bridges Get Poor Rating

Friday, August 3rd 2007, 10:36 am

By: News On 6

A National Bridge Inventory report made in October says one in three Oklahoma bridges is deficient or obsolete. Neighboring states all score better. News On 6 anchor Scott Thompson reports Oklahomaâ€™s infrastructure ranks near the bottom of every category, but ODOT says it finally has the money to make a dent in that.

ODOT says Oklahoma doesn't have any bridges built like the one that collapsed in Minnesota, but 62 are labeled as fracture critical, meaning the bridge could fall if even one girder gives way. Thousands more are worn out, listed as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

Deputy director Paul Zachary says dozens of those are in the Tulsa city limits.

"We'll look at all the joints. This is a beam underneath, and we'll look at areas of deterioration. You can see here that concrete is actually eaten out around there, and they'll rate that. So we get a whole series of pictures and logs,â€ Zachary said.

Crews dangle in a bucket to get a first-hand look at bridges over Oklahoma waterways. Engineers say it takes eyewitness inspections to determine if bridges are unsafe, something you can't tell from the surface.

"There's a lot of bridges that ride quite rough, and even the new bridge out there on the Creek Turnpike, it's got the bounce in it, but it's a safe bridge,â€ said Zachary.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation says the state's crumbling bridges are suffering from decades of neglect.

"Over the years, we have concentrated on improving the system, rather than maintaining and preserving the system,â€ said ODOT chief engineer John Fuller.

ODOT says that should change. For 20 years, the department's budget never increased.

"Think what inflation did to that. It just lowered their ability to do anything,â€ said Representative Guy Liebmann of Oklahoma City.

Now it's nearly doubled, from $200 million to almost $400 million. Engineers say they can now afford to bring Oklahoma's infrastructure into the 21st century, but don't expect it to happen at highway speeds.

"You can't expect ODOT to fix 6,000 some odd bridges instantly when they get the money to do it. This is gonna take time,â€ said Liebmann.

The legislature approved increasing ODOT's budget to $500 million over the next few years. That money will go to building nearly 500 new bridges and repairing 800 more.

Watch the video: Oklahoma Bridges Rated In Bottom Ten In Country

Related stories:

8/2/2007 - State Officials Say Oklahoma Bridges Are Safe

8/2/2007 - Bridge Failure Recalls Oklahoma I-40 Collapse

8/3/2007 - Structurally Deficient Bridges