More than one-third of Maine’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, with bridge conditions projected to worsen in the future if additional funding is not made available, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation organization.
The TRIP report, “Preserving Maine’s Bridges: The Condition and Funding Needs of Maine’s Bridge System” finds that 15 percent of Maine’s state and locally maintained bridges are structurally deficient, which means there is significant deterioration of the bridge supports or other major components. Structurally deficient bridges are often posted for lower weight vehicles or closed to traffic, restricting or redirecting large vehicles, including commercial trucks, school busses and emergency service vehicles. In Southern Maine, ten percent of bridges are structurally deficient. Eighteen percent of Maine’s bridges are functionally obsolete, meaning they no longer meet modern design standards, often because of narrow lanes, inadequate clearances or poor alignment. In Southern Maine, 22 percent of bridges are functionally obsolete.
The list below highlights several critical structurally deficient bridges in the Portland area:
PORTLAND AREA:
Route 1 Bridge over the Cousins River in Freeport. This bridge, built in 1930, carries 8,954 vehicles per day. The substructure of the bridge is in poor condition.
Routes 11-114 over the Muddy River in Naples. This bridge, built in 1930, carries 1,593 vehicles per day. Recreational boat traffic travels underneath the bridge. The deck, substructure and substructure are in poor condition. This bridge is funded for replacement in 2016.
Routes 9 & 22 over the Stroudwater River in Portland. This bridge, built in 1989, carries 23,826 vehicles per day. The substructure of the bridge is in poor condition.
Routes US 202 & 4 over the Little River in Gorham. This bridge, built in 1949, carries 5,452 vehicles per day. The deck and superstructure are in poor condition. This bridge is a candidate for replacement in 2017.
US 1 over Route 115/Main Street in Yarmouth. This bridge, built in 1948, carries 5,641 vehicles per day. The deck of the bridge is in poor condition. This bridge is a candidate for replacement in 2017.
The chart below includes a full list of the structurally deficient bridges in Southern Maine that carry at least 500 vehicles per day. A statewide list of the 205 structurally deficient bridges in Maine that carry at least 500 vehicles per day, as well as additional information, including condition ratings for key bridge components for each bridge, can be found in Appendix A.
PRESERVING MAINE’S BRIDGES:The Condition and Funding Needs of Maine’s Bridge System
Executive Summary
Maine’s bridges are a vital link within the state’s transportation system, providing the state’s residents, visitors and businesses with a high level of mobility. This transportation system forms the backbone that supports the state’s economy. Maine’s transportation system enables the state’s residents and visitors to travel to work and school, visit family and friends, and frequent tourist and recreation attractions while providing its businesses with reliable access to customers, materials, suppliers and employees.
To retain its businesses, accommodate population and economic growth, maintain its level of economic competitiveness and achieve further economic growth, Maine will need to maintain and modernize its bridges by repairing or replacing deficient bridges and providing needed maintenance on other bridges to insure that they remain in good condition as long as possible. Making needed improvements to Maine’s bridges could also provide a significant boost to the state’s economy by creating jobs in the short term and stimulating long term economic growth as a result of preserved and enhanced mobility and access.
POPULATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MAINE
Population and economic growth in Maine have resulted in increased demands on the state’s major roads, highways and bridges, leading to additional wear and tear on the transportation system.
- Maine’s population reached approximately 1.3 million residents in 2014, an eight percent increase since 1990.
- Maine had more than 1 million licensed drivers in 2013.
- Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in Maine increased by 19 percent from 1990 to 2013 –from 11.9 billion VMT in 1990 to 14.1 billion VMT in 2013.
- By 2030, vehicle travel in Maine is projected to increase by another 15 percent.
- From 1990 to 2013, Maine’s gross domestic product, a measure of the state’s economic output, increased by 32 percent, when adjusted for inflation.
MAINE BRIDGE CONDITIONS
One-third of locally and state-maintained bridges in Maine show significant deterioration or do not meet current design standards often because of narrow lanes, inadequate clearances or poor alignment. This includes all bridges that are 20 feet or more in length. The number and share of Maine’s bridges that are in poor condition is increasing while the number and share of structurally deficient bridges in the U.S. is decreasing.
- There are 2,515 bridges in Maine that are 20 feet or longer, and another 1,374 minor bridge spans between 10 and 20 feet.
- The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) is responsible for maintaining approximately 70 percent (2,744) of bridges and minor spans in the state.
- The share of state-maintained bridges in Maine that are at least 70 years old is increasing. In 2007, 25 percent of state-maintained bridges in Maine (675 of 2,722) were at least 70 years old. In 2014, 28 percent of state-maintained bridges in Maine (776 of 2,744) were at least 70 years old.
- Fifteen percent of Maine’s state-and locally maintained bridges are structurally deficient. A bridge is structurally deficient if there is significant deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components. Structurally deficient bridges are often posted for lower weight or closed to traffic, restricting or redirecting large vehicles, including commercial trucks and emergency services vehicles.
- Eighteen percent of Maine’s bridges are functionally obsolete. Bridges that are functionally obsolete no longer meet current highway design standards, often because of narrow lanes, inadequate clearances or poor alignment.
- The share of state-maintained bridges rated poor has increased from nine percent in 2007 to 11 percent in 2014. The number of poor state-maintained bridges has increased 18 percent from 2007 to 2014.
- The Maine Department of Transportation rates the condition of their bridges as poor, fair or good, with the criteria for rating a bridge as poor being similar to the federal criteria for rating a bridge as structurally deficient.
- The share of U.S. bridges rated structurally deficient decreased from 12 to 10 percent from 2007 to 2014, and the number of structurally deficient U.S. bridges decreased 16 percent from 2007 to 2014.
- The chart below details the percentage of Maine’s state and locally maintained bridges statewide and in each county that are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
In the Bangor region, which includes Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties, 15 percent of bridges are structurally deficient and 15 percent are functionally obsolete. Fourteen percent of bridges in Central Maine, which includes Kennebec and Somerset Counties, are structurally deficient while 20 percent are functionally obsolete. In Southern Maine, which includes Cumberland and York Counties, ten percent of bridges are structurally deficient and 22 percent are functionally obsolete.
- The list below highlights several critical structurally deficient bridges in the Augusta, Bangor and Portland area.
AUGUSTA AREA:
Routes US 201 & 9 over Cobbossee Stream in Gardiner. This bridge, built in 1918, carries 14,050 vehicles per day. The bridge deck is in poor condition. This bridge is a candidate for replacement in 2018.
Route 24 over Cobbossee Stream in Gardiner. This bridge, built in 1933, carries 9,070 vehicles per day. The substructure of the bridge is in poor condition.
Water Street over old MCRR in downtown Augusta. This bridge, built in 1939, carries 4,837 vehicles per day and has pedestrian traffic and parking underneath. The deck of the bridge is in poor condition.
BANGOR AREA:
Ohio Street over I-95 in Bangor. This bridge, built in 1960, carries 9,998 vehicles per day and is funded for improvements in 2017. The deck of the bridge is in poor condition. This bridge is funded for replacement in 2017.
Stillwater Avenue over South Channel of Stillwater Avenue in Old Town. This bridge, built in 1952, carries 16,640 vehicles per day. The deck of the bridge is in poor condition. It is a direct route to the University and is a candidate for replacement in 2018.
Route 7 over I-95 in Plymouth. This bridge, built in 1962, carries 1,898 vehicles per day. The deck of the bridge is in poor condition and it is a candidate for deck replacement in 2017.
Pleasant Street over the Pleasant River in Milo. This bridge, built in 1936, carries 935 vehicles per day. The superstructure of the bridge is in poor condition and the truss is fracture critical. The bridge is a candidate for replacement in 2017.
PORTLAND AREA:
Route 1 Bridge over the Cousins River in Freeport. This bridge, built in 1930, carries 8,954 vehicles per day. The substructure of the bridge is in poor condition.
Routes 11-114 over the Muddy River in Naples. This bridge, built in 1930, carries 1,593 vehicles per day. Recreational boat traffic travels underneath the bridge. The deck, substructure and substructure are in poor condition. This bridge is funded for replacement in 2016.
Routes 9 & 22 over the Stroudwater River in Portland. This bridge, built in 1989, carries 23,826 vehicles per day. The substructure of the bridge is in poor condition.
Routes US 202 & 4 over the Little River in Gorham. This bridge, built in 1949, carries 5,452 vehicles per day. The deck and superstructure are in poor condition. This bridge is a candidate for replacement in 2017.
US 1 over Route 115/Main Street in Yarmouth. This bridge, built in 1948, carries 5,641 vehicles per day. The deck of the bridge is in poor condition. This bridge is a candidate for replacement in 2017.
- The charts below include a full list of the structurally deficient bridges in the Bangor region, Central Maine and Southern Maine that carry at least 500 vehicles each day (ADT). A statewide list of the 205 structurally deficient bridges in Maine that carry at least 500 vehicles per day, as well as additional information, including condition ratings for key bridge components for each bridge, can be found in Appendix A.
PRESERVING MAINE’S BRIDGES
State and local transportation agencies are increasingly taking an asset management approach to bridge preservation that emphasizes enhanced maintenance techniques that keep infrastructure in good condition as long as possible, delaying the need for costly reconstruction or replacement.
- Under pressure from fiscal constraints, aging bridges, and increased wear due to growing travel volume, particularly by large trucks, transportation agencies are adopting cost-effective strategies focused on keeping bridges in good condition as long as possible. While this strategy requires increased initial investment, it saves money over the long run by extending the lifespan of bridges.
- Bridge preservation may include washing, sealing deck joints, facilitating drainage, sealing concrete, painting steel, removing channel debris, and protecting against stream erosion.
- Rehabilitation involves major work required to restore the structural integrity of a bridge as well as work necessary to correct major safety defects.
- Replacement projects include total replacements, superstructure replacements, and bridge widening.
- The need to repair or replace high priority bridges may create a funding cycle that makes it difficult to keep pace with the needed preservation activities.
BRIDGE FUNDING IN MAINE
Investment in Maine’s bridges is funded by local, state and federal governments. A lack of sufficient funding at all levels will make it difficult to adequately maintain and improve the state’s bridges. Maine faces a large backlog in funds needed to repair and maintain its bridges.
- The current replacement cost of Maine’s state-maintained bridges is $7.56 billion.
- Repairing and replacing poor bridges and preserving bridges in fair and good condition requires adequate and consistent funding.
- MaineDOT’s current annual bridge funding is $70 million per year. This is the same level of annual investment from 2007 to 2009, before it increased to an average of $112 million per year from 2009 to 2013 as a result of the authorization of $160 million in TransCap bonds.
- A recent MaineDOT report on future funding needs for Maine’s state-maintained bridges found that at an annual funding level of $70 million per year, the share of the state’s bridges currently in poor condition would triple by 2021, from 11 percent to 33 percent.
- The report “Keeping our Bridges Safe 2014,” found that an annual bridge investment of $140 million was needed to maintain the state’s bridges in their current condition. An annual investment of $217 million in the state’s bridges would be needed to maintain the entire bridge system and substantially meet service, condition and safety goals.
TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MAINE
The efficiency of Maine’s transportation system, particularly its roads, highways and bridges, is critical to the health of the state’s economy. Businesses rely on an efficient and dependable transportation system to move products and services. A key component in business efficiency and success is the level and ease of access to customers, markets, materials and workers.
- Annually, $30.9 billion in goods are shipped from sites in Maine and another $41.1 billion in goods are shipped to sites in Maine, mostly by truck.
- Eighty-one percent of the goods shipped annually from sites in Maine are carried by trucks and another 13 percent are carried by courier services or multiple mode deliveries, which include trucking.
- Businesses have responded to improved communications and greater competition by moving from a push-style distribution system, which relies on low-cost movement of bulk commodities and large-scale warehousing, to a pull-style distribution system, which relies on smaller, more strategic and time-sensitive movement of goods.
- Increasingly, companies are looking at the quality of a region’s transportation system when deciding where to re-locate or expand. Regions with congested or poorly maintained roads may see businesses relocate to areas with a smoother, more efficient and more modern transportation system.
- Highway accessibility was ranked the number two site selection factor behind only the availability of skilled labor in a 2013 survey of corporate executives by Area Development Magazine.
Sources of information for this report include the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Bridge Inventory, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the U.S. Census Bureau.