New York’s Bridges
August 2nd, 2007
Given that the New York City Department of Transportation maintains 787 bridges, the collapse of the bridge across the Mississippi in Minneapolis raised immediate concerns here.
A 2006 report
on the state of the city’s bridges by the transportation
department listed only three in poor condition—the lowest number
since at least 1997: the Brooklyn Bridge; a pedestrian bridge over the
FDR Drive in Manhattan, and a bridge at in Flushing Meadows-Corona
Park. According to the City Room,
city officials called reporters today to reassure them. “The poor
rating for the Brooklyn Bridge means that there’s only components
of the bridge that are in poor condition,” Lori Ardito, first
deputy commissioner at the transportation department reportedly said.
“They’re actually the ramps leading to the bridge —
not the span of the bridge.” She said the city planned no special
action in response to the Minnesota disaster but noted the Brooklyn
Bridge is slated for reconstruction work starting in 2010.
To add to our unease, Gothamist
points out the East River Bridges carry far more traffic than the
Minneapolis bridge – not counting the subways that rumble over
some of our bridges – and are a lot older.
And on the state level, State Senate Transportation Committee
Chairman Thomas Libous is calling for more money to be spent on bridge
and road repairs, telling Gannett News Service,
“Maybe this tragedy (in Minneapolis) is going to open the eyes of
some of my colleagues reluctant to spend the money.” A 2003, a report
by civil engineers found 37 percent of bridges in the state were
considered “structurally deficient” or “functionally
obsolete.” Today, state inspectors were reportedly
out in force checking out the spans. Similarly New Jersey Governor Jon
Corzine, apparently not quite so sanguine as New York City officials, ordered inspectors to examine all of the more than 6,000 bridges in his state.
Several commentators see a link between the bridge collapse in Minnesota and last month’s steam pipe explosion in Midtown Manhattan: aging infrastructure.
“What all politicians must do is put aside the bickering and
blame on the infrastructure issue since every one of them has a
responsibility to help reduce the damage,” writes the Tygrrrr Express.
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