According to a state audit, New York has a lot of Lake Champlain bridges on its hands.
The Lake Champlain span was demolished weeks ago when inspectors found cracks in the piers. Research done by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli shows that 93 bridges had a current safety rating that was similar to the one carried by the Lake Champlain Bridge, and some were even in worse shape. The audit revealed that between Jan. 1, 2006, and June 24, 2008, 1,280 serious defects were found on 228 state-owned bridges and on 495 locally owned structures. Additionally, the report found that 69 of the defects “were not addressed in the required time frame.”
The serious defects noted by the audit are supposed to be brought to the attention of the bridge owner within seven workdays. The owner then has six weeks to make the bridge safe.
The audit went on to label three of the state’s signature bridges—the Tappan Zee Bridge, the Peace Bridge and the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge—are in serious need for repairs.
