Francis Scott Key bridge collapses; where are NY's worst bridges?

David Robinson, New York State Team

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse this week joined the growing list of deadly bridge collapses nationally, while renewing focus on efforts to prevent the tragedies.

In New York, about 3,000 bridges need repair or corrective action, which reflects 16% of all bridges in the state, inspection data show. That includes 245 bridges in Westchester County and 89 bridges in Monroe County in some level of disrepair.

And some measures aimed at improving bridge safety across New York stemmed from the Schoharie Creek Bridge collapse in 1987, which killed 10 people when their vehicles plunged into the waterway about 40 miles west of Albany.

Two bodies in Baltimore bridge collapse recovered; search for four others ends
Two bodies in Baltimore bridge collapse recovered; search for four others ends

What happened in the Schoharie Creek Bridge disaster?

Many bridges built over the past nearly four decades have foundations sunk deeper into the earth as a result of the Schoharie Creek Bridge collapse investigation, said Nobert Delatte, an Oklahoma State University engineering professor who studied the disaster.

That is because guidelines changed for bridge construction after the Schoharie bridge failed under pressure from historic flooding during the spring thaw of 1987.

Aftermath of the collapse of the New York State Thruway bridge over the Schoharie Creek in 1987. [PHOTO COURTESY OF UTICA RESIDENT TONI DIMEO]
Aftermath of the collapse of the New York State Thruway bridge over the Schoharie Creek in 1987. [PHOTO COURTESY OF UTICA RESIDENT TONI DIMEO]

The bridge’s foundation, already weakened by prior flood-related scouring since its construction in 1954, was too shallow to stand up to the rapid floodwaters that fateful day in 1987. One car and one tractor-trailer plunged with the bridge, while three other nearby cars couldn’t stop in time and drove into the gap.

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But despite the Schoharie collapse lessons, engineers still face many challenges today in reducing the threat of storm-related bridge collapses amid increasingly severe weather, Delatte noted.

“Things like climate change and land use changes all that,” he said, noting decreases in forests and pastures along with increases in paved surfaces contribute to the risks in some cases.

In Baltimore, investigators are working to determine what caused the hulking Dali container ship to topple Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge in a matter of seconds on Tuesday.

Where are New York’s worst bridges?

About 8% of bridges in New York, or nearly 1,600, had the lowest condition rating of poor. That included 68 in Westchester County and 61 in Monroe County. By contrast, about 7% of bridges nationally have that rating.

For further details on inspection results for all bridges, visit nydatabases.com through USA TODAY Network.

Why do bridges collapse?

Bridges in New York are experiencing close to 200 bridge hits a year, which is a top factor involved in bridge collapses nationally, state records show.

Many of these accidents in New York are caused by myriad factors, including improperly stored equipment on trucks, violation of vehicle posting signs or illegal commercial vehicles on parkways, state Department of Transportation analysis found.

Still, most bridges that collapse nationally do so during floods. Overweight vehicles, usually crossing a bridge in violation of posted weight limits, are the second biggest cause of bridge collapse, followed by bridge failure or collapse caused by collision damage when a vehicle or a vessel hits a bridge, federal records show.

Why not repair, replace bridges faster?

Plans for maintaining and replacing the more than 19,000 bridges across New York are part of annual budget debates in state and federal government.

Inspectors and bridge experts are involved in that discussion, Delatte said, noting priority is based in part on the condition of each bridge as well as the number of vehicles passing over it.

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“Because of the high cost, we end up with a lot of this infrastructure that we kind of push the service life as far as possible,” he said.

In recent years, however, the work received a boost from $40 billion allocated to bridge repair and replacement out of the $1.2 trillion in infrastructure spending Congress approved in November 2021.

But New York’s 1,600 poor-rated bridges must compete with about 40,800 bridges in other states with the same condition.

USA TODAY Network contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Baltimore Key bridge collapse: Search which NY bridges are in disrepair

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