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Rural bridges play waiting game
By David Mercer
and Ryan Keith
By Associated Press with Pantagraph staff
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FICKLIN — The nameless, one-lane bridge on Douglas County Road 1050 has seen much better days. Concrete chunks are falling off its underside, and the structures anchoring it to the river bank have inch-wide cracks.

But the bridge over the Kaskaskia River, built in 1913, won’t be replaced any time soon, even though it scored just 17.6 out of 100 on its last inspection. The bridge has a nine-ton weight limit, but some people who live nearby say they see heavy school buses and farm trucks crossing it.

“We’re really reaching a breaking point where we can’t keep up with bridge deterioration,” said Jim Crane, the county’s engineer. “We get to a point where we just have to close the bridge.”

Hundreds of other bridges throughout Illinois are in the same position — too many needs and not enough cash.

Most of the 2,400 Illinois bridges deemed structurally deficient are small, little-traveled bridges, an Associated Press review of federal data found. They need help but can’t compete with bigger, busier bridges for scarce resources.

Douglas County, for example, had about $400,000 last year for bridges but replacing one can cost millions. Costs keep going up, but state and federal money doesn’t match that growth.

Repairs start in McLean Co.

Of the McLean County bridges on the federal list, at least three already have been replaced and plans to repair others are on the table.

For instance, the Fell Avenue bridge was the only one in Bloomington to make the federal list, but it was replaced last year. In Normal, four bridges made the federal list. One, the Franklin Avenue bridge over Sugar Creek, already has been repaired and two others are scheduled for replacement next year: the Virginia Street bridge and the Broadway bridge over Sugar Creek. The University Street bridge also is in need of repairs, but those might not be needed depending on BroMenn Regional Medical Center expansion plans, town officials said.

In rural McLean County, bridges already have been replaced over Sugar Creek at White Oak Road and at Township Road 330 over Little Kickapoo Creek near Downs. Other scheduled work includes a bridge on Township Road 109 near Pleasant Hill and another on Township Road 239A near Colfax. Both will be rebuilt next year.

Another new bridge, being built over Sugar Creek at Illinois 9/Market Street, is under state jurisdiction.

Little traffic, big problems

Of the 2,400 Illinois bridges with structural problems, more than 1,000 serve 100 or fewer vehicles each day, the AP review found. Among the very worst bridges — those scoring 50 or less on inspections — more than half have tiny traffic levels.

Problem bridges are found in nearly all of Illinois’ 102 counties. Many are small, one or two-lane spans, often old and neglected. With limited government money available for repairs, bridges are often prioritized by how much they’re used. That means many smaller ones are left waiting year after year.

Sometimes, bridges are closed for good, or until repairs are done. Some are “shored up” with additional bracing. Mostly, though, they’re kept open but placed under weight limits to keep extra-heavy trucks and other vehicles from crossing.

John Frauenhoffer, who has inspected bridges for townships and other governments, doesn’t like small bridges being pushed down the priority list.

“I don’t think that traffic volume should have anything to do with the ratings,” said Frauenhoffer, a past president of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers. “You’ve got to start replacing these structures.”

Down the road from the Kaskaskia bridge, 89-year-old Robert Romine said he wasn’t concerned about its condition.

“Oh no,” said Romine, who has spent his entire life near the crumbling span. “I just now come from town on it.”



Bridging the gap

Deficient spans: 2,400 Illinois bridges, or about 10 percent of the total, have been declared “structurally deficient,’’ according to federal data.

Minnesota collapse: 1,500 of the Illinois bridges have lower ratings than the fatal Minneapolis bridge collapse last month.

Busy bridges: Many low-rated Illinois bridges serve thousands of people, including one rated 2 out of 100 that carries 139,000 vehicles each day.



Troubled bridges

More than 2,400 Illinois bridges are considered “structurally deficient,” according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. A look at the deficient bridges in selected Central Illinois counties, along with information on their use and their rating on a scale of 1 to 100.

Champaign

-- 17 of 695 bridges structurally deficient (2.4 percent).

-- 12 state, 3 township, 1 county, 1 other.

-- 56,218 vehicles a day total, or 3,306 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from three bridges with over 5,000 vehicles to seven under 1,000.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 32 percent, with two at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 23.3 to 93.6, with average of 58.6.

DeWitt

-- 11 of 192 bridges structurally deficient (5.7 percent).

-- 5 state, 4 township, 1 county, 1 city.

-- 8,038 vehicles a day total, or 731 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from four at 1,250 and up, 5 125 and below.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 20 percent, with 4 at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 16.9 to 73, with average of 46.3.

Ford

-- 16 of 301 bridges structurally deficient (5.3 percent).

-- 8 state, 5 township, 1 county, 2 others.

-- 12,760 vehicles a day total, or 798 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from four at 1,650 and up to seven at 450 and under.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 19 percent, with 5 at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 19 to 69.9, with average of 45.8.

LaSalle

-- 29 of 508 bridges structurally deficient (5.7 percent).

-- 12 county, 8 state, 5 city, 3 township, 1 other.

-- 61,488 vehicles a day total, or 2,120 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from six at 4,300 and above to seven at 450 and under.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 39 percent, with 6 at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 15.3 to 71.2, with average of 48.2.

Livingston

-- 51 of 563 bridges structurally deficient (9.1 percent).

-- 42 township, 8 state, 1 city.

-- 24,480 vehicles a day total, or 480 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from nine at more than 1,000 to 30 under 100.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 25 percent, with 38 at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 21 to 93.9, with average of 49.2.

Logan

-- 16 of 298 bridges structurally deficient (5.4 percent).

-- 11 township, 4 state, 1 county.

-- 8,375 vehicles a day total, or 523 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from four at 1,450 and up to 10 at 75 and under.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 27 percent, with 12 at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 0 to 70, with average of 45.6.

McLean

-- 25 of 601 bridges structurally deficient (4.2 percent).

-- 9 state, 6 township, 6 city, 4 county.

-- 79,438 vehicles a day total, or 3,177 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from three at 9,550 and up to nine at 550 and under.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 41 percent, with 12 at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 20.5 to 72.4, with average of 47.2.

Peoria

-- 45 of 364 bridges structurally deficient (12.4 percent).

-- 20 state, 11 county, 10 township, 2 city, 2 other.

-- 184,269 vehicles a day total, or 4,095 per deficient bridge. Traffic ranges from eight at 10,000 and up to 18 under 1,000.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 26 percent, with 25 at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 10.6 to 92.6, with average of 46 percent.

Tazewell

-- 30 of 364 bridges structurally deficient (8.2 percent).

-- 19 state, 5 township, 3 city, 2 county, 1 other.

-- 325,025 vehicles a day total, or 10,834 per deficient bridge. Seven at 21,300 and up, 11 at 1,650 and under.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 20 percent, with three at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 22.2 to 95.7, with average of 53.8.

Woodford

-- 9 of 190 bridges structurally deficient (4.7 percent).

-- 5 township, 3 state, 1 city.

-- 8,060 vehicles a day total, or 896 per deficient bridge. Three at 1,300 and up, six at 500 and under.

-- Average truck traffic ranges from 0 to 15 percent, with three at 0.

-- Sufficiency ratings from 17 to 62.6, with average of 43.4.

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Reader comments on this story - 1 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Farmer's son wrote on Sep 2, 2007 7:42 AM:

" Probably these bridges will just be closed. Sad but true. Look what happens when an interstate road is built. Roads are closed and people are forced to drive miles out of their way just to get to someplace that used to be 1/4 mile away. All in the name of progress. Do you really think that these bridges will be replaced? My dad lives on a gravel road that has deteriated to almost mud. But the township road commissioner hasn't done much to fix that problem. What are the chances of getting a bridge fixed when you can't even get gravel hauled in to fix a road? "
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