Few McDowell bridges on annual AAA substandard list

McDowell has quite a few bridges that could be better, but they're not as bas as those in other communities.

AAA of the Carolinas has released its annual report on the state of bridges in North Carolina. While several local bridges made the list, none are anywhere near the top of the danger list.

A 54-year old bridge in Guilford County carrying more than 117,000 vehicles daily is rated North Carolina's top substandard bridge for the third consecutive year, the report stated. This is the first year since 1997 that the DOT has been able to reduce the number of substandard bridges to less than 30 percent (28.5%) of the state's 18,265 bridges.

In McDowell, the worst-ranked bridge was a Catawba River crossing on U.S. 70, ranked No. 358 on the AAA list. That bridge is crossed by an average of 14,000 vehicles each day. Next on the list was the U.S. 221 bridge over I-40, which has nearly 4.5 million vehicles each year crossing it.

Walking under that bridge, The McDowell News observed numerous cracks and broken-away pieces of concrete. Still, it was ranked No. 378 on the list.

None of North Carolina's substandard bridges pose an immediate threat to motorists at this time, the report stated.

Three low-traffic bridges on secondary roads in McDowell were ranked in the mid-500s. No other McDowell bridge appeared among the worst 1,000.

Forsyth and Guilford counties topped the list with four bridges among the top 20 substandard bridges. There are 17 bridges among the top 20 that have been on the list in the past.

"Last year, North Carolina was 40th in the nation for substandard bridges, this year they climbed to 31st, a major achievement" said David Parsons of AAA Carolinas. "In a time of constricting budgets, the DOT is to be commended, but still works with a serious deficit of funding to repair or replace our state's troubled bridges."

For 13 years, AAA Carolinas has been rating the state's substandard bridges to highlight the need for legislative funding. Since the first rating the state's bridge maintenance needs have decreased from a total funding shortfall of $500 million to a total shortfall of $315 million. For this fiscal year the Department of Transportation has allocated $96.6 million for bridge needs from the Highway Fund Maintenance dollars to address this backlog of needs.

The report praises the state's effectiveness in improving the situation over last year, particularly in light of the recession and fallen state revenues. However, AAA Carolinas warns that state tax laws may starve the DOT of needed funds to address the bridges that still need to be repaired or replaced.

The estimated cost to replace all deficient bridges in the state is $5 billion, twice the $2.5 billion estimate in 2007, the report stated.

"When the state legislature capped the gasoline tax in 2006, it put a stranglehold on DOT revenue and has cost the department as much as $600 million by some estimates," read a press release. "The legislature needs to address the state's deteriorating infrastructure before it worsens to where it hampers the state's economic recovery and ability to attract new businesses."

The DOT has found some extra cash in the form of federal stimulus dollars, $12 million for bridge repairs and about $43 million for replacing 44 bridges in the state. This is in addition to the department's funding of about $180 million each year of federal aid dollars in the Transportation Improvement Program for bridge replacements.

Buncombe, Guilford, Wilkes, Forsyth and Rutherford counties have the highest number of substandard bridges, but counties with the highest percentage of substandard bridges are Transylvania (44.5 percent), Macon (43.5 percent), Clay (43.5 percent), Jackson (41.7 percent) and Vance (41.6 percent).

The counties with the lowest percentage of substandard bridges are Pender (13.7 percent), Jones (14 percent), Washington, Richmond, and Duplin (all 15.9 percent).

Substandard bridges are officially classified under federal guidelines as "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete" with AAA Carolinas assigning extra weight to traffic volume to highlight bridges affecting the most motorists.

"Structurally deficient" is defined as being in relatively poor physical condition and/or inadequate to handle truck weight.

"Functionally obsolete" is defined as having inadequate design for current traffic volume. States inspect bridges to determine their condition and qualify for federal aid replacement funds when a bridge scores less than 50 on a 100-point scale.

An affiliate of the American Automobile Association, AAA Carolinas is a not-for-profit organization that serves more than 1.8 million members with travel, automobile and insurance services while being an advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.