Seattle Department of Transportation director Grace Crunican warned almost two years ago that 39 out of 105 bridges in Seattle were rated as poor and were in need of some major repairs. The warning came during a media in-spection of the Magnolia Bridge, which has been damaged by earthquakes and a landslide on the west side.
Still, the recent collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis has raised even more awareness of the city's aging infrastructure. Seattle doesn't face the same level of concern raised by the Minneapolis bridge, which was built with steel trusses, according to SDOT spokesman Greg Hirakawa. "We don't have that many [steel-truss bridges]," he said.
The José Real Bridge and one side of the University Bridge qualified, though, and both were inspected soon after the Minneapolis disaster, said Hirakawa, adding that both passed inspection.
Locally, the Magnolia Bridge and the bridge on Queen Anne Drive are in relatively good shape, according to SDOT. The Magnolia Bridge was inspected about a month ago, and only some broken concrete was found on the 77-year-old structure, Hirakawa said.
"Normally, we just break it off as long as it doesn't expose the underlying rebar," he said. But the inspection two years ago - which involved members of media being lowered and maneuvered under the bridge in a bucket - revealed that some rebar had been exposed by crumbling concrete.
Crunican stressed at the time that the Magnolia Bridge was perfectly safe, and the most recent inspection led to the same conclusion, according to Hirakawa.
The bridge on Queen Anne Drive was also inspected recently and passed with a rating of 82 out of 100, he said. "The steel [on that bridge] was not inspected this time," said Hiraka-wa, who added that an ultrasound in-spection of the bridge in the recent past didn't reveal any cracks in the metal.
Nonetheless, there are some cracks and potholes on the Queen Anne bridge roadway, which allows the seepage of water, which can rust the steel in the bridge, he conceded.
Hirakawa described the damage to both bridges as cosmetic. "Our inspectors have not turned up anything significant on both bridges," he stressed.
The Magnolia Bridge has strain gauges that operate continually, "and that does most of our heavy lifting for us," is how Hirakawa put it.
But generally, city bridges are inspected every two years, or as needed, he said. For example, the Aurora Bridge was inspected a few months ago because a contractor working in the area noticed some anomalies, said Hirakawa. He added that the inspection didn't turn up any problems.
A few of the city's bridges get more attention than others. "Some bridges are inspected every year, and the [Alaskan Way] Viaduct is inspected every six months," Hirakawa noted.
The fate of the viaduct replacement is unclear as the city studies whether a surface option is feasible, but the fate of the aging Magnolia Bridge is equally unclear.
Replacing the neighborhood bridge requires an outlay of money that's not available for the moment. But estimated replacement costs are going up faster than inflation, Hirakawa said.
Indeed, the estimated cost for replacing the Magnolia Bridge has gone up from $100 million to $130 million in 2002 to approximately $260 million in today's dollars, he said.[[In-content Ad]]
