Editor,

After last week’s terrible bridge tragedy in Minneapolis, I have heard from many of you who are concerned with the condition of Maine’s bridges, and in particular, our local bridges. Before the federal government asked the states to look into the safety of their bridges, Gov. Baldacci had already issued an executive order to the Maine Department of Transportation to review all of its bridge inspections and report its findings within the next three months.

As your legislator, I will work with department of transportation to keep people in our area updated on these reports. My initial conversations with both department officials and my colleagues on the Legislature’s Transportation Committee have shown that bridge safety is already one of the top priorities at the department.

Only six bridges in Maine are the same type as the one in the Minneapolis tragedy. All of these have been recently reviewed, and most have been rehabilitated within the past few years. The nearest one to our area is a railroad crossing bridge in Falmouth, and it was inspected again last week for consideration in the next work plan. Another nearby bridge like this is the one in Kittery that connects Maine with Portsmouth, N.H., and is consistently reviewed and maintained by officials from both states.

Maine’s 3,700 state, private, and locally-owned bridges are inspected at least once every two years. More than 180 of these bridges are monitored periodically if there are any concerns from the reports. The inspections are conducted by five full-time and two part-time bridge inspectors, each with more than 10 years of experience in the field. Inspectors work with an underwater dive team and use an under-bridge crane to review structural integrity, and all reports are reviewed by a professional engineer.

All in all, the state spends nearly $2 million annually just on the inspection and monitoring process, which is conducted to National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS).

Over the next year, 68 Maine bridges will receive replacement, rehabilitation or preservation work. Current state funding allows Maine to entirely replace up to 14 bridges per year, and the long-range plan proposed by the department of transportation is to increase this rate to 32 new bridge building projects each year by doubling the current investment in bridge construction.

According to recent inspections, nearly 240 bridges will need replacement or major rehabilitation in the next 10 years, and can receive federal matching funds. Altogether, almost 300 bridges will need capital investments to avoid being posted or closed, and many of those will also be eligible for federal bridge investment dollars.

The $113 million transportation bond package voters approved in June is dedicated to infrastructure upgrades for Maine roads and bridges. This enables the state to receive federal matching dollars to maximize the amount of projects the state can undertake, and will contribute somewhat to the investments the department needs for its long-range plan.

As I learn more about bridge and other infrastructure improvements for Gray and Windham, I will do my best to keep you updated. In the meantime, if I can provide any other information or assistance on any state matter, please don’t hesitate to call me at home at 892-6591, or e-mail me at RepMarkBryant@yahoo.com.

Rep. Mark Bryant

Windham

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