Mar 14, 2006 By Amy Zalar 3 min read

Despite improvements in design and construction over the years, when a new bridge or road is constructed, it will never be better than the day it opens. “When we’re done building a new bridge or road, that’s the best it’s going to be,” said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 12 Executive Joseph J. Szczur. He compared a new highway or bridge to a new vehicle, which begins depreciating the moment it is driven off the sales lot.

Speaking during a recent PennDOT Fayette County outreach meeting, Szczur said the collapse of a bridge beam in Washington County last December helped PennDOT to emphasize “there is a crisis in southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Szczur said many of the bridges in the area were built in the 1950s and 1960s, and with nearly 30 percent of the bridges in the area structurally deficient, it was very fortunate that nobody was injured with the beam collapse.

“Day in and day out we count our blessings,” Szczur said. He said although only 10 percent of the bridges in the United States are structurally deficient, that figure is more than doubled in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Currently, 636 of the 2,340 bridges in District 12, which includes Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, are structurally deficient. That amounts to 28.5 percent being structurally deficient. Deficiency is based on condition of the deck, superstructure and substructure of the bridge.

The goal is to reduce the figure to 10 percent by 2026, Szczur said. However, Alan Bailey, P.E., ADE-Design, said in order to meet the 10 percent goal, $900 million must be spent by 2026. The current Transportation Improvement Program for 2005-2008 will deliver 39 bridges at a cost of $106.7 million. With the current spending rate, it will be 2039 before the goal is met, Bailey said.

Szczur said a lot has been learned as a result of the beam collapse. Chris Sleighter said bridges are being cleaned every year, which should help with deterioration.

During the two-hour presentation, officials also presented a list of the upcoming surface improvement projects and construction projects for the 2006 construction season.

The main construction projects will include the completion of the full diamond Walnut Hill Interchange and completion of the Yough Reservoir Bridge. Other projects include Route 51, Route 31, Prison Road (Route 4020) and slide repair.

Szczur said our area is unique in that there are two problems not common in other areas, longwall mining and slides. He said the geological stratum in District 12 is the most highly susceptible to slides.

The presentation also included a brief overview of PennDOT, its vision and mission statements.