Engineers keep close watch over bridges in area

By ASHLEY LUTHERN

None of the Valley’s bridges are the same as the one that collapsed in Minneapolis.

YOUNGSTOWN — One year after the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, local bridge engineers are continuing their efforts to ensure such a disaster never occurs here.

“From our standpoint, the bridge tragedy served as a reminder of how important our job is,” said John Picuri, Trumbull County bridge engineer.

Though the county has 20 truss-style bridges, none is the same as the bridge on Minneapolis Interstate 35 that collapsed Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring more than 140 people.

Sixteen major projects costing more than $15 million are projected to be completed in Trumbull County within the next five years, he said.

“We’re always diligent in our management, and we’re doing additional strengthening repairs and preparing expansion joints,” Picuri said.

The Trumbull County engineer’s office has also had an increase in the number of public calls.

“Now concerned citizens call and say, ‘I noticed something that didn’t look right’ and we always investigate what they tell us,” Picuri said, adding that calls used to come in about once every three months, but now it’s once a month.

Picuri viewed this as a positive for the department and said that it helps to have people giving another look at the 379 bridges that his office inspects annually.

Another change that Mahoning County bridge engineer Randy Partika noted is the Federal Highway Administration’s requirement that all counties complete new, detailed load-rating analyses for all structures to determine the actual load capacity.

“We have three years to complete these analyses, but as of now the federal government isn’t funding it, so we’re trying to work with them and other agencies to get that money,” Partika said.

After a study of the Minneapolis collapse, federal advisories were issued in January that focused on “under-designed gusset plates.”

Gusset plates are made of metal and used to connect steel beams in riveted, bolted and welded bridges. They are weight-bearing but do not carry the main load of the bridge.

Even though gusset plates appear to be in good condition during annual inspection, during a bridge rehabilitation project, the strain created by directing traffic to one lane — so that workers can continue work on the other lane — can affect how the plate performs under normal conditions.

This advisory affected the county’s Spring Common Bridge rehabilitation project. At the time the advisory was issued, half of the deck was removed. The bridge, however, has a different design with three main arches to distribute the weight. Though the plates were studied before construction and before the Minneapolis bridge collapse, county officials looked at it again and confirmed that the bridge would be safe under the loading conditions, Partika said.

In Columbiana County, projects to rehabilitate five 100-year-old bridges have been completed.

“We went with a rehab instead of replacement because of the original design of the steel trusses around the Beaver Creek park area,” said Bert Dawson, Columbiana County engineer.

An ongoing replacement schedule keeps the department busy with about 25 bridges in different stages of replacement.

“We’ve always had a really aggressive bridge program, but when the money will be available is a big variable,” Dawson said, adding that the county tries to get federal highway bridge money and grants whenever possible.

Bridge budgets have also been strained by the rising price of fuel.

“We’re primarily funded by the gas tax and motor licensing tax,” said Rocky Riviella, the personnel director for the Trumbull County Engineer’s office.

In 2006, the department received $2.4 million from the gas tax and $5.6 million from the license tax. In 2007, those amounts decreased to $2.2 million and $5.4 million.

“People are trying to conserve gas and aren’t filling up as much,” Riviella said.

In Mahoning County, the gas tax revenue has decreased, too, but that does not account for a significant amount of money.

“This decrease of gas consumption isn’t causing as big of a financial headache as the actual cost of fuel, because we do use a lot of diesel,” said Mahoning County Engineer Richard Marsico. “We’ve seen almost a 40 percent increase in those costs over the last year, and our budget is straining.”

Across the state line in Lawrence County, only 5 percent of the money spent on bridge projects comes from local sources.

“Our county makes great use of federal funds,” said Bill Humphrey, a bridge engineer with Frank B. Taylor Engineering, the firm that does bridge inspections in Lawrence County.

One such funded project is the Stoughton Road bridge, which is scheduled to be completed by December.

“This was a steel truss bridge and we’re completely replacing it,” Humphrey said. “Most of what’s being built now are steel I-beam or concrete bridges, and you won’t see too many steel truss bridges built today.”

Neighboring Mercer County has four truss structures and three are slated for replacement within the next few years, said Mark Miller, county bridge engineer.

In addition to the federal advisories that were issued, Miller said that his bridge inspectors will learn what new things to look for when they are recertified.

“Every two years, inspectors go through a recertification course, which is developed by the state,” he said. “Plenty of that new information of special concern from the [Minneapolis] collapse will be highlighted at those training sessions.”