No Damage from the Earthquake, but is Everything OK?

On a sunny afternoon in August, the people on the east coast of the United States experienced something that many have never felt before. At 1:54PM on August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake, centered in Mineral, Virginia (approximately 80 miles west of Washington, D.C.), shook the ground. Tremors were felt as far as Canada. When the ground shakes, there is always the potential for damage. Since the earthquake, engineers have been scouring the greater Philadelphia region looking for damage to structures. PennDOT responded by having inspectors evaluate the integrity of the nearly 25,000 bridges in the state.

So far, no significant damage has been reported, and bridges remain open to traffic. Just because the bridges did not sustain damage from the earthquake, it is not a time to breathe a sigh of relief. The cause for concern on PennDOT’s part is that Pennsylvania is home to more than 6,000 structurally deficient bridges. That puts PA in the number one spot nationwide for structurally deficient bridges.

What is a structurally deficient bridge? According to PennDOT, a structurally deficient bridge “means that the bridge has deterioration to one or more of its major components. Although deterioration is present, a structurally deficient bridge is safe.” It is easy to see where there is cause for concern after an earthquake. A bridge that has a deficiency in its structure is at risk of sustaining significantly more damage than a bridge that is not deficient. With more than 6,000 bridges, the potential for damage to reveal itself is great. We are lucky that so far, nothing appears to be damaged.

This sobering fact does raise an eyebrow and make one ask “what if…” as in “what if there is damage that needs to be fixed?” It is the “what if…” scenario that is the most troubling. In 2008, then Governor Ed Rendell began the Accelerated Bridge Program, which funded projects to quickly reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges in PA. The program was funded through 2010, and has since ended. The funding, although needed to repair bridges, had to be redirected from other infrastructure projects that are now delayed as a result. The program repaired 1,145 bridges. A good start, however that still leaves almost 5,000 bridges that still need to be addressed, as well as many more bridges that aren’t listed but continue to deteriorate with age. This paints a grim picture for both bridges in the state, and the mechanism to fund their repairs. We can’t continue to redirect funds from other projects solely to fix bridges.

To address this need, Governor Tom Corbett formed the Transportation Funding Advisory Commission (TFAC), which developed a plan for Pennsylvania to fund infrastructure improvement projects, including bridge reconstruction. The TFAC report was made public on August 1, 2011 and recommends many different approaches that get us to the same result, a fully funded infrastructure improvement program. How much is needed to address these structurally deficient bridges? The TFAC estimates a need of $1.29 Billion in the year 2020. If the funding recommendations are put into place, PennDOT will be able to repair and replace over 400 bridges per year. Without implementing the funding program, approximately 200 bridges per year will be addressed; a number that is not expected to keep pace with the number of bridges being added to the list.

Although no bridges came down or were closed as a result of the earthquake, it does not mean there is no cause for concern. If PennDOT is unable to properly handle the backlog of structurally deficient bridges, there is no telling what may happen if an earthquake were to happen closer to home.

Posted in: local,Shayne Trimbell