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The Consequences Of Inaction
Part 2 - Deteriorating bridges and highways
About 160,000 vehicles a day travel over the Providence viaduct, a 1,300-foot section of I-95 in Providence just north of the I-195 split near the Providence Place Mall where the road is elevated over the Woonasquatucket River, the AMTRAK lines and local streets.
The viaduct, which provides connections to Routes 6 and 10, has deteriorated to the extent that repair is no longer an option. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has made replacement of the viaduct a priority.
We only have to look a few miles north of the Providence viaduct to the Pawtucket River Bridge to witness the tremendous negative impacts associated with closing a key bridge on the I-95 corridor to truck traffic and other vehicles over 18 tons. (In fact, the bridge will have been closed to truck traffic for six years before a replacement bridge is anticipated to open in 2013!)
But while no other bridges in Rhode Island are as critical to maintaining interstate commerce and keeping the vital link between New York and Boston open, there are hundreds of bridges in need of repair, and far more are already beyond their anticipated lifespan and in worse shape than the viaduct.
Last week we detailed the financial impacts of failing to act to reform our transportation funding system by the end of the legislative session in June.
Without action, our elected officials will essentially be endorsing a system that takes in far less each year than it needs to maintain our infrastructure -- a deficit that will continue to grow due to increasing debt service and declining revenues.
What does that shortfall mean for the Providence viaduct and Rhode Island's other deteriorating bridges and highways?
In March 2011, Transportation for America (T4A) published the report, "The Fix We're In: The State of Rhode Island's Bridges," which concludes that Rhode Island is the 4th worst state in terms of the overall condition of the state's bridges.
Rhode Island has 754 highway bridges, 602 are owned by the state, 145 are owned by local communities and seven are owned by other entities such as private businesses and federal agencies. One out of every five bridges that motorists in Rhode Island cross each day are likely to be deteriorating and 21.6 percent of the bridges statewide are rated "structurally deficient," compared to 11.5 percent nationally. As of May 11, 2011, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation has 103 "posted" bridges -- closed bridges or bridges with weight limits -- listed on their web site.
Without a new funding system, the number of structurally deficient bridges will increase over time as more and more bridges reach the end of their designed lives and the state has less money each year to repair them.
According to the T4A report, most bridges are designed to last roughly 50 years. The average age of Rhode Island's bridges is 52.6 years, compared to the national average of 42 years.
In 2008, Governor Donald Carcieri established a Blue Ribbon Panel to assess Rhode Island's transportation needs and identify options for potential funding sources. As we reported last week, the Blue Ribbon Panel estimated that RIDOT would need an additional $285 million per year for 10 years to restore RI's transportation system to a condition of good operation and repair.
What could the state do if we plugged the funding gap?
* Repair or replace all structurally deficient local and state-owned bridges at the rate of about 26 bridges per year.
* Complete more than 20 major bridge and highway projects, each with a cost greater than $10 million.
* Totally reconstruct 20 lane miles of roadway per year.
* Resurface 120 lane-miles of roadway, including replacement of approximately 34 miles of sidewalk associated with these projects.
* Fully fund preventative maintenance activities (bridge painting, deck joint repair, overlay and crack sealing of roadways).
* Fully fund essential operations and maintenance activities (bridge inspections, drainage improvements, pavement striping, traffic signal repair and replacement, signing and lighting improvements and repair, landscaping maintenance and improvements).
* Fully fund essential roadway maintenance activities (snow removal, grass cutting, drainage structure repair).
Without the funding for these fixes, continued deterioration is inevitable.
 RIDOT conducts bi-monthly inspections of the bridges that make up the Providence viaduct and makes interim repairs to keep the deck and piers safe for the heavy traffic volume. The estimated cost of replacing the viaduct while maintaining traffic volume of 160,000 vehicles per day is $177 million.
The longer the project is delayed, the more likely it is to face serious deterioration problems, which could require closure or adding it to the list of bridges that are posted for heavy truck traffic.
Action is needed now.
CTC supports The Transportation Investment and Debt Reduction Act of 2011 (S-148 / H-5789) which is now pending in the General Assembly. This Act would begin to stabilize state transportation funding and reduce the amount of borrowing the state must do for transportation projects. As the state's debt is reduced, debt service payments will also decline, providing additional funds for needed transportation investments.
Please contact your state senator and representative to support this sustainable funding for roads, bridges, and transit. (You can click here to find out who represents you at the State House.)
If your representative is Jeremiah T. O'Grady, Arthur Handy, Teresa Ann Tanzi, Edith H. Ajello or Frank Ferri or your senator is Louis DiPalma, thank them generously for their leadership as sponsors of these bills.
Next week -- Local Roads: Potholes and our pocketbooks. |
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About the Coalition for Transportation Choices
The Coalition for Transportation Choices (CTC) calls for a 21st century transportation system that enhances our economy and provides all Rhode Islanders with healthy transportation choices.
Rhode Island's 21st century transportation system must provide all people - employees, tourists, youth, elderly, able and disabled - with safe and dependable access to their community's opportunities for work, education, services, and recreation. The system should be considerably less dependent on cars and fossil fuels as well as efficient, effective and easy to use. It should minimize impacts to land, water and air and improve the health and well-being of all Rhode Islanders. Such a system should be sustained with predictable and consistent funding for operation and future growth.
CTC's work is supported
by the Rhode Island Foundation, The Prospect Hill Foundation and Third
Sector New England's Capacity Building Fund
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The Consequences
Of Inaction
Part 1 -- The financial implications
Part 2 -- Deteriorating bridges and highways: The impacts on interstate commerce
Part 3 -- Local roads: Potholes and our pocketbooks
Part 4 -- Buses and trolleys: Inaction means paying more for less
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Transportation Choices Member Groups
* AARP
* Amalgamated Transit Union
* American Lung Association in RI
* Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living
* Aquidneck Island Planning Commission
* Audubon Society of Rhode Island
* Blueways Alliance
* Blackstone Valley Partnership
* Blackstone Valley Tourism Council
* Blueways Alliance
* Brown emPower
* Childhood Lead Action Project
* City-State, the Urban Design Lab at RISD
* Clean Water Action
* Conservation Law Foundation
* Cornish Associates
* DOT Watch
* East Coast Greenway Alliance
* Ecolect
* Environmental Justice League of RI
* Farm Fresh Rhode Island
* Goodwill Industries
* Grow Smart RI
* Head of the Bay Gateway
* LISC-RI
* Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
* Opportunities Unlimited, Inc.
* Pawtucket Foundation
* Providence Foundation
* Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau
* Recycle-A-Bike
* Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition
* RI Consulting Engineers (RICE)
* Rhode Island Student Climate Coalition
* RI Association of Railroad Passengers
* RI Interfaith Power and Light
* RI Land Trust Council
* RICOSH
* Save The Bay
* SEIU, District 1199
* Sierra Club
* The Providential Gardener
* U.S. Open Cycling
* Working Rhode Island
* Youth in Action
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