Condition of City bridges remains stable

The 230 bridges owned and/or maintained by the City of Cincinnati remained in much the same condition between 2010 and 2011, according to the 2011 Annual Bridge Condition Report issued by the City's Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE).

Of those 230 bridges, 91 are maintained by the City. Of those 91, 65 are City-owned and maintained with City funds; 26 are owned by Hamilton County and maintained by the City by contractual agreement. The remainder, held by railroad companies or other public agencies, were inspected purely for public safety reasons.

The 2011 inspections found that the weighted average ratings for City and County bridges were 6.97 and 6.26, respectively, well above the City goal of a 6 – or satisfactory – weighted average rating. In 2010, the weighted average ratings were 6.98 and 6.31, respectively.

Of the 91 bridges, 86 are rated 5 (fair) or above.

One bridge, the Waldvogel Viaduct, is rated 3 (serious). A $68 million replacement project is underway, which will replace the load-restricted structure with an at-grade roadway and five new ramp bridges. Construction is scheduled for completion in late 2013.

Additionally, four bridges were rated 4 (poor):

• The Center Hill Avenue Bridge over the Mill Creek in Elmwood Place, scheduled to go out for bid later this year;
• The Kennedy Avenue Bridge over the Conrail tracks in Kennedy Heights, scheduled for replacement next year;
• The Marburg Avenue Bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad in Oakley, scheduled for replacement in 2016; and
• The Western Hills Viaduct, a $200 million project that may be folded into the Brent Spence Bridge project which currently has no funding.

The report cautions that bridge conditions may deteriorate if funding stays at current levels.

The 1988 Smale Commission Report on City Infrastructure recommended an annual City investment, in 1988 dollars, of $1 million in operating funds and $2.8 million in capital funds to maintain a deck area of approximately 1 million square feet.

This year, the City has $1.4 million in bridge funding allocated to inspect, maintain, repair and replace more than 1.4 million square feet in deck area. The City also receives $1 million from the County for the 26 County bridges within the City limits.

The complete annual report, prepared as required by state law, is available for review in the Clerk of Council's office, City Hall Room 308.

Previous reading on BC:
Brent Spence team releases Environmental Assessment study (3/26/12)
Waldvogel/Sixth St lane closures (3/6/12)
Cincinnati bridge conditions decline slightly, but still sound (6/1/10)
2008 Cincinnati bridge condition report released (4/29/09)
Cincinnati releases 2007 bridge report (4/8/08)