The BU Bridge Redivivus

When I posted Tuesday a photo of the BU Bridge's sorry state of concrete holes, I didn't realize that the Boston Herald had posted a story two days earlier on the BU Bridge. Stupid me, I don't read the Herald on a daily basis. The Herald's story was a response to their request for "Citizen Inspectors"; I responded to them two days earlier than that, on Friday 8/3, telling them about the BU Bridge (see comment #3). People have been discussing online the Boston Herald article on the BU Bridge. The Herald also posted a database of the 560 Massachusetts bridges classified as "structurally deficient" in the National Bridge Inventory.

So why do I revive this over-done story on the BU Bridge?

In the Herald article, the DCR spokesperson said that the bridge is safe, and is not structurally deficient:

The Boston University Bridge - an urban eyesore of rusting metal, crumbling concrete and perilous sidewalk cracks - is due for rehabilitation work but is not considered to be one of the state’s 560 “structurally deficient” spans.

“It may need work, but it can still take the statutory loads,” said Wendy Fox, spokeswoman for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which owns the bridge connecting Boston and Cambridge. “The point is, it’s not on the list because it’s not considered to be structurally deficient.” [italics added]

Yet the Herald's database lists it as structurally deficient (see last entry that page), my extraction from the NBI database finds it to be structurally deficient, and I even included a Google map link based on the latitude and longitude in the NBI database to show which bridge the NBI is referring. The NBI classifies with a "1" (="structurally deficient") in character #427 of each entry line in its database to identify this class of bridges.

Assuming I haven't made a mistake in figuring out which bridge is which, or in understanding the entries and classifications in the NBI, then it sure sounds to me like the DCR doesn't even know which of their bridges are classified as structurally deficient. How embarrassing, if not outright incompetent on the part of the DCR.

Boston Herald Calling All Citizen Inspectors About Bridge Safety

The Boston Herald, apparently juiced up about good coverage about their online databases of state and city employee salaries, have created an online database of Massachusetts bridges classified as "structurally deficient" in the National Bridge Inventory's database.

The Herald's new database isn't is useful as their previous products, since all the information is already available online -- just in a clumsy format. (The salary data were not, however, available online until the Herald posted it.) That's why I could cull out those bridges closest to Brighton in a previous post.

The Herald is asking for citizens to contact them with information on bridges that people are worried about. Better yet, they are asking for photographs and/or video documenting the concerns.

Worried about the Eliot Bridge, which has a steel truss design similar to Minneapolis's 35W bridge that collapsed? Enjoy peering down through the cracks in the concrete of the BU Bridge to see the boats below? Here's a picture of those holes in the BU Bridge taken from below. I was on a boat taking a guided tour of the Charles during the Riverfest event of the Brighton-Allston Bicentennial.

Structurally Deficient and Functionally Obsolete Bridges in the Allston-Brighton Area

The Boston Globe ran an article and graphic in today's paper with a map of where bridges classified as "deficient" are located. But you can't really figure out which ones they are referring to, and the Globe provided no list of the bridges themselves to accompany their map.

So I went to the National Bridge Inventory's website, downloaded the Massachusetts data, found those with a "structurally deficient" (STATUS=1) or "functionally obsolete" (STATUS=2) classification, figured out their distance from my house, and output a set of Google Maps URLs for the closest ones to show you where they are.

The closest structurally deficient ones? I-90 turnpike overpass over Brooks Street in Brighton, and the Cambridge Street overpass over the I-90 turnpike in Allston. Many others are classified as "functionally obsolete", although these ones were not described by the Globe article (and may not have structural issues, per se, but could simply be outdated designs).

Oh, and of course, the BU Bridge is labelled as structurally deficient. No surprise: there are big holes in the concrete that you can see through. ("COMB_SOL_FLD_RD_&_RIV_ST_2_BROOKLINE_ST")

Here's the list, where the first column is the distance (in decimal degrees) from my house (note: I have not corrected for the spherical trigonometric projection), and the second column is the average daily traffic across the bridge. Note that some of the latitude and longitude don't quite line up with the maps exactly... but you get the picture. The list is restricted to those carrying at least 3,000 vehicles per day.



Structurally Deficient

distance (deg)	cars/day	name	map link
0.010486	105465	HWY_BROOKS_ST_I_90_EB	map
0.010597	105465	HWY_BROOKS_ST_I_90_WB	map
0.019529	105465	RR_CSX/MBTA_I_90	map
0.028009	19900	COMB_I_90_&_MBTA/CSX_HWY_CAMBRIDGE_ST	map
0.028741	17100	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_HAMMOND_PD	map
0.034013	7700	COMB_I_90_&_CSX/MBTA_HWY_CHURCH_ST	map
0.039399	62904	RR_CSX_I_90_EB	map
0.039399	63725	RR_CSX_I_90_WB	map
0.046443	41000	COMB_SOL_FLD_RD_&_RIV_ST_2_BROOKLINE_ST	map
0.046670	100000	HWY_BROOKLINE_ST_US_3_MEMORIAL_DR	map
0.050280	3000	COMB_I_90_&_MBTA/CSX_HWY_ST_MARYS_ST	map
0.052204	11400	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_WALDEN_ST	map
0.064094	6700	WATER_MUDDY_RIVER_HWY_IPSWICH_ST	map
0.064836	8400	RR_MBTA_HWY_WALWORTH_ST	map
0.067279	6200	RR_BMRR_SPUR_HWY_LOWELL_ST	map
0.068179	31300	ST_2_COMMONWEALTH_AVE_ST_2_A/MASS_AVE	map
0.068262	5000	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_LOWELL_ST	map

Functionally Obsolete

0.009441	105465	HWY_PARSONS_ST_I_90_EB	map
0.009639	105465	HWY_PARSONS_ST_I_90_WB	map
0.009751	105465	US_20_N_BEACON_ST_I_90_EB	map
0.009875	105465	US_20_N_BEACON_ST_I_90_WB	map
0.015593	14100	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_CHSTNT_HL_AV	map
0.016564	40000	WATER_CHARLES_RIVER_HWY_ARSENAL_ST	map
0.017059	22000	HWY_SOLDIERS_FIELD_RD_HWY_WESTERN_AVE	map
0.019755	3000	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_DEAN_RD	map
0.020853	3300	COMB_I90&CSX/MBTA&LNCLN_HWY_EVERETT_ST	map
0.022326	14400	RR_BMRR_HWY_GROVE_ST	map
0.023430	3000	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_HAMMOND_ST	map
0.027131	37400	RR_BMRR_HWY_MT_AUBURN_ST	map
0.028081	13600	COMB_I_90_&_CSX/MBTA_HWY_WASHNGTON_ST	map
0.030269	131737	RR_CSX_LEAD_TRACK_I_90	map
0.030269	37041	HWY_SERVICE_RD_I_90	map
0.030319	3000	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_SUMNER_RD	map
0.031344	47600	HWY_HAMMOND_POND_PKWY_ST_9_BOYLSTON_ST	map
0.032072	13600	COMB_I_90_&_CSX/MBTA_HWY_CENTRE_AVE	map
0.035528	8200	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_CYPRESS_ST	map
0.036717	19900	COMB_I90_W_ONRP_A_&_CSX_I_90_EB_RAMP_ON_F	map
0.037694	19900	I_90_I_90_EB_RAMP_ON_D	map
0.038201	19900	COMB_I90_E_RPS_BD_&_CSX_HWY_CAMBRIDGE_ST	map
0.038484	8900	HWY_SOLDIERS_FIELD_RD_HWY_N_HARVARD_ST	map
0.039008	3000	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_LANGLEY_RD	map
0.039449	29000	WATER_CHARLES_RIVER_HWY_N_HARVARD_ST	map
0.040324	3000	COMB_I_90_&_CSX/MBTA_HWY_LEWIS_TER	map
0.041061	22400	HWY_SOLDIERS_FIELD_RD_HWY_CAMBRIDGE_ST	map
0.041841	8900	HWY_SOLDIERS_FIELD_RD_HWY_WESTERN_AVE	map
0.042069	32100	WATER_CHARLES_RIVER_HWY_CAMBRIDGE_ST	map
0.042416	14100	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_WASHNGTON_ST	map
0.042625	7700	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_CYPRESS_ST	map
0.044429	19900	OTHER_PEAT_BOG_HWY_GROVE_ST_VDT	map
0.045259	19900	COMB_I_90_&_MBTA/CSX_US_20_COMM_AVE	map
0.045645	8200	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_ASPINWALL_AV	map
0.045904	13600	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_CENTRE_ST	map
0.046843	8200	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_LONGWOOD_AVE	map
0.047004	66100	ST_9_HUNTNGTON_AVE_HWY_JAMAICAWAY	map
0.047175	4700	WATER_MUDDY_RIVER_HWY_NTHRLNDS_RD	map
0.047371	21600	WATER_MUDDY_RIVER_HWY_LONGWOOD_AVE	map
0.047687	25100	ST_9_BOYLSTON_ST_HWY_PARKER_ST	map
0.048387	49500	RR_CSX_US_3_MEMORIAL_DR	map
0.049992	11505	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_MINER_ST	map
0.050365	13600	COMB_I_90_&_CSX/MBTA_HWY_WALNUT_ST	map
0.050930	55800	HWY_ACCESS_RD_US_3_/ST2&16/ALWF	map
0.051035	55800	TR_RED_LINE_US_3_/ST2&16/ALWF	map
0.051630	5200	WATER_ALEWIFE_BROOK_ST_2_EB_RAMP	map
0.051725	24600	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_TRAPELO_RD	map
0.052123	13600	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_LEXINGTON_ST	map
0.052743	21000	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_PARK_DR	map
0.054060	3000	COMB_I_90_&_CSX/MBTA_HWY_LOWELL_AVE	map
0.054204	50000	OTHER_PEAT_BOG_HWY_JAMAICAWAY	map
0.054775	27200	RR_MBTA/BMRR_ST_2_A/MASS_AVE	map
0.056060	13600	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_HWY_WALNUT_ST	map
0.056162	20050	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_BEACON_ST	map
0.056313	19900	COMB_I_90_&_MBTA/CSX_HWY_BEACON_ST	map
0.057499	52000	HWY_CENTRE_ST_ST_9_BOYLSTON_ST	map
0.057851	30000	ST_2_ST_60_PLEASANT_ST	map
0.059411	105000	TR_GREEN_LINE_D_ST_9_BOYLSTON_ST	map
0.061576	10183	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_MINTON_RD	map
0.061698	3300	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_BOYLSTON_ST	map
0.062000	7500	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_DANE_ST	map
0.062202	10183	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_GORDON_ST	map
0.062330	10183	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_CEDAR_ST	map
0.062400	16700	HWY_STRRW_DR_WB_&_OFRP_HWY_STRW_WB_ONRP	map
0.062594	3300	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_GREEN_ST	map
0.062699	8900	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_HEATH_ST	map
0.062799	19900	RR_MBTA_HWY_W_ROXBRY_PKY	map
0.062806	8900	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_CENTRE_ST	map
0.063277	3300	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_MCBRIDE_ST	map
0.063961	32600	COMB_WASH_ST&AMTK&ORNG_ST203_MONSGR_CASEY	map
0.064067	19064	HWY_KENMORE_OFF_RMP_HWY_BWKR_SB_ONRP	map
0.064073	8900	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_TREMONT_ST	map
0.064102	101659	WATER_MUDDY_RIVER_I_90	map
0.064123	5700	RR_MBTA_HWY_PARK_ST	map
0.064167	27000	WATER_MUDDY_RIVER_HWY_COMM_AV_OFRP	map
0.064226	24400	HWY_BOWKR_ON_&_OFF_RPS_HWY_STORRW_DR_EB	map
0.064446	27000	COMB_I_90_&_MBTA/CSX_HWY_BOWKER_INT	map
0.064559	27000	ST_2_/COMM_AV_&_BEACON_HWY_BOWKER_INT	map
0.064652	27000	WATER_MUDDY_RIVER_HWY_BWKR_NB_OFRP	map
0.064652	27000	WATER_MUDDY_RIVER_HWY_BWKR_SB_ONRP	map
0.064864	6100	RR_MBTA_HWY_BELLEVUE_ST	map
0.064891	27000	HWY_STRRW_DR_WB_ON_RMP_HWY_BWKR_NB_OFRP	map
0.065392	35200	RR_MBTA_HWY_CENTRE_ST	map
0.065989	28448	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_WASHNGTON_ST	map
0.066038	49000	COMB_STRW_DR_&_CHAS_RIV_ST_2_A/MASS_AVE	map
0.067266	21600	ST_2_HWY_PARK_AVE	map
0.067901	19300	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_WEBSTER_AVE	map
0.067917	8900	COMB_AMTRAK/MBTA_&_ORNG_HWY_RUGGLES_ST	map
0.068070	7700	COMB_I_90_&_CSX/MBTA_HWY_CHESTNUT_ST	map
0.068406	14300	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_PROSPECT_ST	map
0.069044	30400	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_BROADWAY	map
0.069071	19900	COMB_I_90_&_MBTA/CSX_HWY_MASS_AVE	map
0.069329	9400	RR_MBTA/BMRR_HWY_CENTRAL_ST	map
0.069983	5400	RR_MBTA/CSX_HWY_BAKER_ST	map