ALBANY - Detailed inspections of New York's 49 deck truss bridges have confirmed they are safe for travel, state officials said Wednesday.
The state Bridge Task Force also released a report that says bridge inspection procedures used in New York are effective.
Following the Aug. 1 collapse of a deck truss bridge in Minneapolis, Gov. Eliot Spitzer ordered inspections of all similarly designed bridges in New York within 30 days.
Visual inspections were conducted and a report was issued.
Last month, the Task Force did hands-on evaluations that allowed inspectors to touch and test the bridge parts they were checking.
No major problems were found, but inspectors did find some deficiencies - which means the bridges are in need of work but aren't in danger of imminent collapse.
Inspectors documented those deficiencies with written “flags.” Red flags signify conditions involving key structural components requiring immediate evaluation and corrective action; yellow flags identify less critical conditions that will likely get worse unless corrected.
Safety flags indicate conditions that present safety hazards but aren't structural problems.
Twenty of the 49 bridges were flagged in the two rounds of inspections - including one red flag.
Eighteen bridges received one or more yellow flags, and 11 bridges received safety flags.
The problems included:
•The Route 9W bridge over Popolen Creek in Orange County was given a red flag because of a crack in the tiedown at the end of one of the bridge's trusses. Bolts were also missing in three small, metal plates. Those repairs have been made.
•The Kosciuszko Bridge in Kings County received 20 yellow flags for corrosion and decay of steel beams and small cracks in beams and welds, and eight safety flags for problems including exposed electrical wires and loose concrete.
•The Smith Street Bridge over the Genesee River in Monroe County got six yellow flags for two corroded bearings, rusted beams, corrosion and a loose anchor bolt that helps keep a sidewalk support beam on top of a floor beam. It also received five safety flags for a tripping hazard on a sidewalk, exposed electrical wires, a loose piece of curbing and corrosion on a catwalk used by maintenance and inspection personnel.
Following the Aug. 1 collapse of a deck truss bridge in Minneapolis, Gov. Eliot Spitzer ordered inspections of all similarly designed bridges in New York within 30 days.
Visual inspections were conducted and a report was issued.
Last month, the Task Force did hands-on evaluations that allowed inspectors to touch and test the bridge parts they were checking.
No major problems were found, but inspectors did find some deficiencies - which means the bridges are in need of work but aren't in danger of imminent collapse.
Inspectors documented those deficiencies with written “flags.” Red flags signify conditions involving key structural components requiring immediate evaluation and corrective action; yellow flags identify less critical conditions that will likely get worse unless corrected.
Safety flags indicate conditions that present safety hazards but aren't structural problems.
Twenty of the 49 bridges were flagged in the two rounds of inspections - including one red flag.
Eighteen bridges received one or more yellow flags, and 11 bridges received safety flags.
The problems included:
•The Route 9W bridge over Popolen Creek in Orange County was given a red flag because of a crack in the tiedown at the end of one of the bridge's trusses. Bolts were also missing in three small, metal plates. Those repairs have been made.
•The Kosciuszko Bridge in Kings County received 20 yellow flags for corrosion and decay of steel beams and small cracks in beams and welds, and eight safety flags for problems including exposed electrical wires and loose concrete.
•The Smith Street Bridge over the Genesee River in Monroe County got six yellow flags for two corroded bearings, rusted beams, corrosion and a loose anchor bolt that helps keep a sidewalk support beam on top of a floor beam. It also received five safety flags for a tripping hazard on a sidewalk, exposed electrical wires, a loose piece of curbing and corrosion on a catwalk used by maintenance and inspection personnel.
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