The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is under federal scrutiny for its late highway bridge inspection reports and has been working with local officials to catch up to federal standards, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) put MDOT in conditional compliance when a 2009 state report found more than 10% of the inspections were overdue, some as late as three years. According to administration regulations, MDOT is required to inspect highway bridges 20 ft or longer once every two years.
Federal officials are urging the inspectors to pay special attention to soil erosion near underwater support for bridges, which may cause collapse, and speed up inspection for bridges in poor condition.
Although Michigan is deficient in both regards, according to FHWA spokeswoman Nancy Singer, the state is making significant progress in completing water erosion inspections, or scour reports, by the year’s end.
MDOT must complete crucial bridge inspections by Dec. 31, 2010, in order to avoid losing highway funding.
Ted Wahby, the chairman of the State Transportation Commission, called the delayed inspections troubling.
“You don’t want that kind of deterioration to go unnoticed,” said Wahby. “The inspections should catch that and get it corrected.”
MDOT spokesman Bill Shreck claims that drivers do not need to worry about the safety of the bridges and that dwindling funds makes it difficult for state and local road agencies to maintain these bridges.
“The situation will continue as the money we have for transportation buys less and less,” Shreck said.
Keith Ledbetter, the legislative affairs director for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, said the problems faced by MDOT are indicative of “a highway and bridge system that’s starving for additional dollars.”
