County Engineer Asks Congress for Bridge Funding

Approximately 70 percent of the nation’s “structurally deficient” bridges are owned and maintained by local governments, but counties need more federal resources to adequately address the problem. That was the message to members of Congress by Palm Beach County Engineer George Webb, president of the National Association of County Engineers (NACE).

Webb testified on Sept. 5 before the House Transportation Committee, chaired by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), during a hearing on the problem of structurally deficient bridges. Congressional leaders were told federal bridge funds are critical for counties because, unlike the federal and state governments that rely on user fees for highway funding, local governments rely primarily on property taxes or own source revenue to finance their bridge improvements.

“Nationally, the bridge situation is more critical for local government,” Webb testified. “Of the 597,340 bridges in the United States, 298,638 are owned by local government, which is about 50 percent of the total.”

Of the 73,784 bridges rated “structurally deficient,” about 52,000 or 70 percent are owned and maintained by local government, mainly counties, Webb said. He urged the committee to expand the National Highway System Bridge Reconstruction Initiative to include all structurally deficient bridges, not just those on the National Highway System (NHS). “Non-NHS bridges that are structurally deficient do pose a threat to public safety and are often very important to a regional economy,” Webb said.

Palm Beach County has 230 bridges identified on the National Bridge Inventory System. But only one, the Camino Real/Boca Club Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Boca Raton, is considered structurally deficient. This does not mean the bridge is unsafe. Rather, it means the bridge undergoes enhanced monitoring by Palm Beach County Engineering and is slated for replacement within the next 10 years. Statewide, there are 260 structurally deficient bridges -- 204 owned by local governments and 56 by the state.

However, over the next decade or so, Palm Beach County’s bridges will be wearing out, in part due to high traffic volumes. Some local bridges carry over 50,000 vehicles per day, which is more than many rural interstates. Webb said it is likely Palm Beach County will have to replace three draw bridges in the next 10 to 15 years at a cost of $50 million each. He told lawmakers the County doesn’t have the money, but would if it had access to both state gas tax revenue and an expanded federal bridge program.