Missouri bridges in critical condition on the rise

More than 640 bridges in the state need some major repairs or even need to be replaced.

The Missouri Department of Transportation recently finished the latest bridge inspections. MoDOT added another 50 bridges to the list this week that need critical condition.

“A lot of it is just age and deterioration,” MoDOT State Bridge Engineer Dennis Heckman said. “We have over 10,000 state bridges on our system. And their average age is 45 years. Most of those were designed to last 50 years.”

More than 85 percent of the bridges in critical need of repair are on supplementary roads or not on the MoDOT system. At this time, it is unknown if those bridges will get state funding to make major repairs, Heckman said.

If the trend continues, 1,500 bridges will be in critical condition in a decade, MoDOT said.

Engineers inspect all Missouri bridges at least every other year. Inspectors check the girders, or columns, holding the bridges up.

“You can see the exposed rebar the rust and steel where the salt water over the last 35-40 years have taken their toll,” Heckman said about the Highway 50 overpass bridge on Routes J and M. “And also the steel girder that supports it is exhibiting quite a bit of rust.”

Inspectors also check the bridge deck. And if the bridge is over a waterway, dive teams go underwater to check for erosion.

Bridges in critical condition are still safe to drive on, Heckman said. But those bridges require much more maintenance and more frequent inspections, which means more money.

The state recently released revenue results for fiscal year 2015. State revenues from gas tax, vehicle sales tax and car licensing fees are up 4.5 percent from the amount projected.

MoDOT has asked the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to give some of the extra funds to go toward repairing these bridges, Heckman said.

The commission meets Wednesday in St. Louis to discuss how to use the extra revenue.