Falling Down - How developers and municipalities are fighting the devastating effects of the country’s failing bridges.

By Malorie R. Medellin

Few images more accurately capture the devastation of failed infrastructure than the tragic ruin of St. Anthony Falls Bridge in Minneapolis. The bridge’s collapse in August 2007 into the Mississippi River brought the larger issue of America’s aging infrastructure into the limelight.

Exactly how bad off is America’s infrastructure? The American Society of Civil Engineers graded overall American infrastructure with a “poor” grade of D, only one step up from a “failing” F in its 2005 Report Card. More specifically, the ASCE handed down grades of D, D+, C, and C for dams, roads, railroads, and bridges, respectively.

TAKING STOCK
Roughly 160,000 of the nation’s 590,000 bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, says Andy Herrmann, member of the ASCE Board of Directors and the 2005 Report Card team. That means one in three urban bridges is at risk of failure or should be retired from use.
“This is a problem. We have to do something to keep this from getting worse,” Herrmann says. In order to eliminate all bridge deficiencies, the ASCE report suggests funding of $9.4 billion a year for 20 years—a hefty tab for an already under-funded issue.

“The country, at all levels, has not been funding infrastructure for many years,” says Maureen McAvey, executive vice president of infrastructure initiatives for the Urban Land Institute and project manager for the ULI’s 2007 Global Infrastructure Report. She says the failure to accurately plan and finance rebuilding and repairing efforts, as well as the negative effects of sprawl on transportation needs, has all contributed to the problem and must be addressed.

“We’re not thinking it through suburb to suburb,” says McAvey, who points out that intermodal transportation is key when approaching infrastructure development. She gives examples such as “park and ride” transportation, Flexcars, and rapid transit systems. Most international capitals, including London, Paris, and Tokyo, have already invested in these transportation options, unlike the United States. “We need to ask ourselves, ‘Have we thought about how everything connects?’” she says.

Linda Figg has. As president and CEO of Figg Engineering group, the firm that was hired by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to redesign the St. Anthony Falls Bridge, she looks to the future in planning for the city, taking into account possible infrastructure developments down the road.

In designing the “strongest” and “safest” bridge possible, Figg wanted to incorporate more travel options. First, she widened the bridge by more than 180 feet, increasing the traffic lanes from eight to 10, with five in each direction. In addition, 14-foot safety shoulders were added to make way for other possible developments— specifically a light rail or rapid transit bus line. The inclusion of multiple transportation options and a clear sense of future capacities help to alleviate congestion and, in turn, the wear and tear on roads and bridges. “This is something that can be planned for now,” Figg says. “The local community has been talking about it, and right now we’ve provided the provisions for it.”

EYE ON THE FUTURE
Finding more efficient ways to get travelers from point A to point B, as well as providing sustainable infrastructure, is a growing concern among developers. Designing and building with materials that can last for half centuries as opposed to decades means more durable, long-lasting travelways. Combined with population predictions, a sustainable infrastructure emerges. This type of planning has been especially true of those undertaking bridge repair or rebuilding projects such as the extensive Woodrow Wilson Bridge development just south of Washington, D.C.

Built in the late 1950s, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge was originally designed to hold 75,000 cars a day—a capacity it had already surpassed when it opened in 1961. Because of shortsighted planning, as well as insufficient population calculations, the bridge was in bad shape from the start. By the 1990s, it had more than 200,000 cars traveling across it daily.

For the new design, the Maryland Highway Administration, along with developers in the Parsons Transportation Group—a construction, engineering, and project management firm based in Washington, D.C.—forecasted 20 years ahead, designing a bridge that could handle 300,000 cars a day. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge design also plans for possible high-occupancy vehicle or “local” traffic lanes to help alleviate bottlenecks.

“[The bridge] is meant to last beyond the lifespan of anyone around today,” says Bob Healy, project manager for the design team and deputy director of bridge development for the MHA. He adds that the entire bridge also utilizes more advanced materials, such as high performance concrete—a feature it shares with the new St. Anthony Falls Bridge. Healy predicts that the redesigned Woodrow Wilson Bridge will boast a sustainable lifespan of 75 to 100 years or more. The typical lifespan of many older bridges varies from 20 to 40 years depending on construction.

ULI’s McAvey believes that detailed community demographics, as well as 50- to 100- year population and capacity forecasts, are invaluable to these types of developments. “There is a great deal of change predicted for the next 25 years,” she says, citing the aging baby boomers and smaller family units. “We have to look at the specifics and see what options we have.”

In lieu of “hub and spoke” cities—where downtown areas enjoy centralized mass transit and outlying suburbs sprawl out with limited transit options— McAvey says that commuters need to be encouraged to use new mass transit options, such as light rails and express bus routes. This use then lessens the number of cars in transit as well as the strain on roads and bridges. She also stresses the importance of infrastructure developments integrating into area land use— something that Figg also tried to take into account when redesigning St. Anthony Falls.

“The way a bridge interfaces into the fabric of the community is important from many vantage points,” says Figg, who transformed the underutilized land underneath and around the bridge into valuable and productive green spaces.

With the University of Minnesota, theaters, condos, and lofts lining the surrounding banks, the green space makes the transit area more pedestrian- friendly.

These efforts represent the type of personalized tailoring that such infrastructure developments need. Both the Woodrow Wilson and St. Anthony Falls projects have attempted to remedy the critical oversights of preceding projects by increasing functionality, capacity, and sustainability.

“We’re trying to find ways to build bigger, stronger bridges,” says ASCE’s Herrmann. “It’s what keeps Americans moving.”

Building Bridges
Keep these tips in mind when tackling a bridge rehabilitation project.

1. Plan ahead. Do adequate planning up front so as not to overload bridges and roads. Take into account the area’s demographics, as well as possible future state and federal developments. Think of the next 50 years instead of the next five years. Consider possible population increases or decreases, and map out infrastructure in those communities accordingly. For example, in communities with a large senior citizen population, plan for more mass transit options.

2. Integrate land use. Plan for more mixed-use developments, with mass transit fixed into the “people centers” of the communities. Think “suburb to suburb” planning, aimed at connecting outlying communities not only to metropolitan downtowns but also to neighboring suburbs.

3. Go intermodal. Most international capitals offer rapid transit from airports into downtowns. Take into account the complete journey for the traveler, not just the stops. “Sidewalks and roads from neighborhoods need to link effectively to mass transit and railways that lead to ports, airports, and commercial districts,” states the ULI 2007 Global Infrastructure Report. Understand the most efficient ways to move people and commercial loads to minimize congestion.

4. Communicate openly. Terry Ward, the St. Anthony Falls project manager for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, follows the “design, build, best value” approach of project delivery. By designing only 30 percent of the bridge, Mn/DOT turned to interested designers to finish the vision—thus playing to individual developer’s strengths and improving the quality of the end product. Such bidding methodologies vary from state to state with most utilizing the basic “design, bid, build” approach. However, open exchanges and collaborations between government officials and developers over design specifics help to clarify any potential problems and risks.