You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library STATE OF NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 1035 PARKWAY AVENUE P.O. BOX 601 TRENTON, N.J. 08625-0601 JON S. CORZINE 609-530-3535 GOVERNOR KRIS KOLLURI. ESQ. COMMISSIONER August 9,2007 The Honorable Jon S. Corzine Governor State House P.O. Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625-0001 Dear Governor Corzine: Pursuant to your directive issued August 2, 2007, attached please find the interim report on bridges. The accompanying documents detail the number of bridges located in the state, their jurisdiction of control, structural condition, the date of last inspection and the anticipated date of the next inspection .. Of the 6,434 bridges in New Jersey, including those owned and operated by the State, New Jersey Transit, independent and bi-State authorities, counties and municipalities, there are 736 (11%) that are considered "structurally deficient", These are bridges whose deck, superstructure and/or substructure are deteriorated; however, this does not mean that these bridges are unsafe to travel on. I want to assure you that the safety ofthe motoring public is my highest priority. In fact, under federal regulation, the New Jersey Department of Transportation rigorously inspects the bridges under its jurisdiction a minimum of every two (2) years, or more if necessary. Further, the NJDOT Office of the Inspector General is conducting unscheduled audits and investigations of all movable bridge operational procedures to test for compliance with all aspects of the Movable Bridge Protocol Program. I have asked the Inspector General to conduct similar audits of non-movable bridges as well. In addition, inspections of the seven (7) New Jersey bridges with similar deck truss structures as the bridge in Minneapolis have been ordered for immediate inspection based upon the Federal Highway Administration directive. These inspections began August 6, 2007 and will be conducted over the coming weeks. Our focus is not just on inspection but funding bridge repair and maintenance programs, understanding that the fiscal constraints are enormous. Regularly scheduled and, if necessary, emergency maintenance is performed on our bridges, as determined by our bridge engineers and You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library maintenance operations staff, on an on-going basis, and all available resources are devoted to this endeavor. Through your leadership, we have been successful in increasing our available state resources to $509 million in Fiscal Year 2008 dedicated to bridge preservation and maintenance. In New Jersey, the state bridges that are identified in the attached report as "structurally deficient" are prioritized to ultimately be replaced or rehabilitated through the Capital Program process. This interim report will highlight and provide an overview of the condition of New Jersey's bridges, of which a vast majority (5,125) are owned by the NJDOT, county and municipal governments. Some of the fmdings in the report include: 4,196 (66%) of New Jersey's bridges are neither Structurally Deficient nor Functionally Obsolete; 1,502 (23%) are Functionally Obsolete; 396 bridges are Load Posted which limit the weights of trucks using the bridges. Additionally, there are 279 bridges in New Jersey that are required to have safety inspections at a more frequent cycle than the once every two years as required under federal regulations. These bridges (70 State, 14 NJ Transit, 185 County/Municipal, 4 Toll Highways and 6 Special Agency) are required to have interim inspections of the structural members where a potential exists for deterioration that could cause a loss of load carrying capacity. Over the coming days, we will continue to synthesize this data and produce, as requested a final report for your review which will contain an anticipated capital investment strategy to bring our public bridges into a state of good repair. Sincerely, Kris Kolluri Commissioner You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library Table of Contents Letter from the Governor 1 Preface 2 Summary of Bridge Inventory 3 Attachment # 1 – Bridge Condition Inventory, All Bridges 7 Attachment # 2 – Structurally Deficient Bridges Statewide 168 Attachment # 3 – Bridge Inventory Information from New Jersey State & 186 Bi-State Authorities You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library State of New Jersey OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR PO BOX 001 TRENTON NJ 08625-0001 JON S. CORZINE GOVERNOR August 2, 2007 The Honorable Kris Kolluri, Esq. Commissioner Department of Transportation PO Box 600 Trenton, NJ 08625 Dear Commissioner Kolluri: Recognizing the tragic events last night in Minneapolis, this morning I am calling on the New Jersey Department of Transportation to prepare a report describing the safety status of all bridges in the State. This report is to include bridges owned and operated by the State, New Jersey Transit, State and bi-state authorities, counties, municipalities, and orphan bridges. I direct the Department to provide to me within 7 days an inventory of all bridges, including ownership, date of most recent inspection and identification of those classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Within the next 45 days, I direct you to outline the current bridge capital investment strategy and identify the necessary resources to replace or repair any bridge within the jurisdiction of the Department, New Jersey Transit, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the South Jersey Transportation Authority or other public entities, to the extent permitted by current law, found to be structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. These steps are necessary to provide a safe transportation system for every New Jersey resident and those traveling through our State. Sincerely, Jon S. Corzine You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library Highway Carrying Bridges in New Jersey Inventory Report Preface In response to the loss of life during the catastrophic collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River between Ohio and West Virginia in 1967, the United States Congress passed a law mandating regular safety inspection of the nation’s bridges. In 1969, the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) were added to the Code of Federal Regulations (23CFR650) mandating that all of the nation’s highway carrying bridges over 20 feet long be inspected at a cycle of not more than two years. The NBIS also specifies requirements for the State bridge inspection organization, inspection personnel, inspection procedures, and data inventory. The New Jersey Department of Transportation instituted the mandated bridge safety inspection program starting in 1971. New Jersey’s inspection requirements exceed the minimum standards set in the NBIS in order to reduce the risk that undetected deterioration of our bridges would impact the safety of the traveling public and the loss of valuable infrastructure. The information contained in this report primarily comes from the current data in the Statewide Bridge Management System. Since the bridge inspection program is a continuous ongoing program and the data is continually being updated, there may be some minor inconsistencies in the data due to the lag between the actual inspection and the data update, especially for bridges not under the Department's jurisdiction. However, the overall data contained in this report gives an accurate representation of the condition of the highway carrying bridges in New Jersey. 2 You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library Summary At present, there are 6,434 highway carrying bridges over 20’ long in New Jersey’s bridge inventory. These bridges are categorized by their respective owners in Figure 1 (below). Distribution of All 6,434 Highway Carrying NJ Bridges By Owner 3000 2576 2549 2500 2000 1500 B ridges 1164 1000 500 107 24 14 0 State County/Muni Toll NJ Transit Special Agencies Private FIGURE 1 3 You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library Of all the bridges in New Jersey, Figure 2 (below) depicts the percentages of bridges that are Not Deficient (neither Structurally Deficient nor Functionally Obsolete), Structurally Deficient, and Functionally Obsolete. Condition Distribution of All 6,434 NJ Bridges (Number of Bridges and Percentage) Not Deficient Functionally Obsolete Structurally Deficient 736, 11% 1502, 23% 4196, 66% Figure 2 4 You are viewing an archived copy from the New Jersey State Library Figure 3 (below) is a further breakdown of the bridges shown in Figure 2, showing the percentages of Not Deficient, Structurally Deficient and Functionally Obsolete bridges in New Jersey by bridge owner. NJ Highway Carrying Bridge Condition by Owner Not Deficient Functionally Obsolete Structurally Deficient 0% 100% 2% 13% 14% 13% 90% 29% 33% 33% 80% 22% 19% 29% 70% 60% 50% 45% 40% 71% 65% 67% 65% 30% 58% 20% 22% 10% 0% State (2,576) County/Muni Toll (1,164) NJ Transit (107) Special Agencies Private (14) (2,549) (24) Figure 3 In addition to the regular biennial bridge safety inspection, the National Bridge Inspection Standards also mandate that additional types of inspections and other information be retained. Some of the additional information is as follows: • There are 634 Fracture Critical (non-redundant) bridges in New Jersey (220 State, 42 NJ Transit, 266 County/Municipal, 99 Toll, 4 Special Agency & 3 Private). These bridges are constructed in a manner when the failure