West Virginia has 20 bridges — including the famous New River Gorge Bridge — that are similar to the one that collapsed and killed at least five people in Minneapolis on Wednesday, state highways officials said Friday.
They’re scheduling those bridges for an extra inspection, as U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters on Thursday called upon all states to do.
Two of the bridges are listed as “structurally deficient,” said deputy state highway engineer John Walker. Both carry U.S. 19 over the West Fork River in Harrison County.
· Gypsy Bridge, an 85-year-old bridge that carries an average of 7,900 vehicles a day, is currently being replaced. It was last inspected in August 2006.
· Shinnston Bridge, which carries an average of 10,000 vehicles a day, is scheduled to be replaced in 2010. It was built in 1929. It was last inspected in June 2007.
“Structurally deficient” bridges have major deterioration, cracks or other flaws that reduce their ability to support vehicles. That doesn’t mean they are unsafe, Walker said. It may mean they have posted weight limits.
On an average day, 2.6 million vehicles drive over West Virginia bridges that are rated structurally deficient, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Last year, West Virginia had the nation’s eighth-highest percentage of bridges rated either structurally deficient or “functionally obsolete,” with 37 percent. Functionally obsolete bridges may not be wide or high enough for the roads leading onto them or the traffic they are expected to carry.
Six of the 20 bridges are listed as functionally obsolete. None of the six is scheduled for repair or replacement. “They all need to be,” Walker said, but he said West Virginia doesn’t have enough money in its bridge budget.
Some of the 20 bridges are north- and southbound lanes of the same bridge (see list).
All 20 of the bridges are “steel deck truss” bridges — the trusses are under the bridge deck, not on top of the bridge where people driving across the bridge can see them.
Because of the Minneapolis collapse, “there’s going to be a spotlight on that kind of bridge,” state highways spokesman Brent Walker said.
“We know there are concerns. We definitely want to take a look at those. We want to let people know those similar structures here are safe.”
All 20 of the bridges have been inspected within the past two years, officials said. The landmark New River Gorge Bridge — the world’s second-longest single-arch steel span — is inspected every year, Brent Walker said.
The extra inspections will start next week, officials said.
Two of the bridges are on the West Virginia Turnpike, so they will be inspected by West Virginia Parkways Authority inspectors rather than state Division of Highways inspectors, said state parkways general manager Gregory Barr.
To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call 348-1702. To contact staff writer Tara Tuckwiller, use e-mail or call 348-5189.
Bridge inspection list
Here is a list of steel truss bridges being inspected by the West Virginia Department of Transportation because they are similar to the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis:
Hartland Bridge, carries W.Va. 16 over Elk River in Clay County. Built in 1924. Average daily traffic: 2,300 vehicles. Listed as functionally obsolete.
New River Gorge Bridge, carries U.S. 19 over New River in Fayette County. Built in 1977. Average daily traffic: 8,000.
Kevin Ritchie Memorial Bridge, carries U.S. 19 over Meadow River in Fayette County. One span built in 1973, the other in 1995. Average daily traffic: 6,400.
Stonecliff Bridge, carries W.Va. 25 over New River in Fayette County. Built in 1928. Average daily traffic: 300.
Gypsy Bridge, carries U.S. 19 over West Fork River in Harrison County. Built in 1922. Average daily traffic: 7,900. Listed as structurally deficient.
Shinnston Bridge, carries U.S. 19 over West Fork River in Harrison County. Built in 1929. Average daily traffic: 10,000. Listed as structurally deficient.
Sharples Deck Truss, carries U.S. 119 over Spruce Creek in Logan County. Built in 1975. Average daily traffic: 2,100 vehicles. Listed as functionally obsolete.
Paul E. Prunty Bridge, carries I-79 over the Tygart Valley River in Marion County. Built in 1966. Average daily traffic: 18,000.
William Lee Prunty Bridge, carries I-79 over Tygart Valley River in Marion County. Built in 1960. Average daily traffic: 18,000. Listed as functionally obsolete.
Cornelius Charlton Bridge, carries I-77 over the Bluestone River in Mercer County. Built in 1979. Average daily traffic: 14,400 vehicles.
Bluestone Bridge, carries I-77 over Bluestone River in Mercer County. Built in 1954. Average daily traffic: 14,300.
Harmony Grove Overpass, carries County Route 45 over I-79 in Monongalia County. Built in 1971. Average daily traffic: 2,500.
Cheat Lake Bridge, carries I-68 over Cheat Lake in Monongalia County. Built in 1976. Average daily traffic: 25,000.
Corporal Thomas Bennett Bridge, carries I-79 over the Monongahela River in Monongalia County. Built in 1971. Average daily traffic: 35,000. Listed as functionally obsolete.
Hughes Bridge, carries U.S. 19 over the Gauley River. One span built in 1963, the other in 1994. Average daily traffic: 7,000. Listed as functionally obsolete.
P.G. McDonald Memorial Bridge, carries I-64 over Glade Creek in Raleigh County. Built in 1988. Average daily traffic: 14,000.
Burning Springs Bridge, carries County Route 35 over Burning Springs Run in Wirt County. Built in 1947. Average daily traffic: 50.
Walker Deck Truss, carries County Route 7 over Walker Creek in Wood County. Built in 1955. Average daily traffic: 300. Listed as functionally obsolete.
Source: W.Va. Department of Transportation