Nevada bridges ranked country's best in national report
Submitted by editor on Wed, 04/01/2015 - 6:16pm
CARSON CITY, Nev. – Amid constrained federal transportation funding, the Nevada Department of Transportation’s dedicated bridge inspection and rehabilitation program has led Nevada bridges to be named the nation’s best.
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association’s recently-released analysis of 2014 national bridge inventory data (www.artba.org ) details the $115 billion backlog of bridge preservation investment needed to repair and modernize the nation’s more than 61,000 structurally deficient bridges.
The report shows only 1.8 percent of Nevada’s approximately 1,900 public bridges being structurally deficient. Compared to a near nine-percent national average, it is the nation’s best ranking. The term structurally deficient bridge is used to describe bridges in need of rehabilitation or potential replacement. Structurally deficient bridges are not necessarily unsafe or dangerous. Rather, these bridges become a priority for corrective measures, and may be posted to restrict the weight of vehicles using them.
The Nevada Department of Transportation inspects all bridges in the state of Nevada, including city and county-maintained structures. All bridge structures are inspected every two years, while bridges with more extensive deterioration are inspected more often.
“In Nevada, as throughout the nation, safety and mobility are our primary focus,” NDOT Director Rudy Malfabon said. “The Nevada Department of Transportation continues our ongoing and extensive bridge program that has led Nevada bridges to be named the nation’s best, but we know that our bridge and transportation program will continue to rely in large part on federal transportation funding.”
Nearly 340 of Nevada’s state-owned bridges are more than 50 years of age, an age when rehabilitation is often necessary to keep the structure to current standards. Nevada’s current bridge funding backlog of approximately $119 million is projected to reach $338 million in fiscal year 2027 at current funding levels. If the funding is gradually increased over the next ten years, the forecast state bridge preservation cost is expected to level off at approximately $48 million per year.
The ARTBA reports that the federal Highway Trust Fund, the source of 52 percent of highway and bridge investments made by state governments nationwide, has suffered five revenue shortfalls between 2008 and 2014. Without Congressional action, the current extension of federal highway and transit funding is set to expire on May
