Three years after the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis focused attention on bridge conditions nationwide, some observers see shortcomings in the federal bridge program. Some participants at a July 21 House subcommittee hearing found fault with the Federal Highway Administration’s system for tracking bridge funds as well as states’ ability to transfer federal bridge category funds to non-bridge projects. The panel also received ideas about ways to restructure the program. FHWA can take some steps on its own; other changes may be part of the next highway-transit bill, whenever it emerges.
There has been progress. Phillip Herr, the Government Accountability Office’s director for physical infrastructure issues, testified that the number of deficient bridges dipped 14% since 1998, to 159,739 last year. But House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) believes there are still too many deficient bridges. Joseph W. Comé, a U.S. Dept. of Transportation assistant inspector general, said the deck area of structurally deficient National Highway System bridges rose 8%, to 13.5 million sq meters, between 2001 and 2009. The 160,000-mile NHS includes Interstates and other arteries.