We might dismiss the latest warnings about deteriorating bridges close to home as a self-serving pronouncement. It's being delivered, after all, by the contractors who would gain if and when the bridges are repaired.
But we shouldn't dismiss the warnings too quickly.
The numbers were announced in recent weeks by the Michigan Infrastructure Transportation Association, an organization of contractors involved in virtually all kinds of public works construction in our state. Of a total of 10,831 bridges in Michigan, 3,055 are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, the association reported.
In Oakland County, 165 of 446 bridges, two out of every five, are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
In Macomb County, the numbers are a little better: Of 399 bridges, 117 need improvement.
Perhaps we can live a few more years with "functionally obsolete," a phrase referring to original design with lower load capacity, less clearance underneath or narrower shoulders.
But structurally deficient? That refers to deteriorating beams or a crumbling deck. Concrete chipped away, showing rusting beams underneath is structurally deficient.
To be sure, the worst bridges aren't being overlooked. The worst in Macomb County, those with decks, superstructure and substructure ranging from fair to serious condition, are being repaired or close to it. They include bridges along Interstate 696 and bridges carrying Gratiot over the Clinton River.
None are classified as in critical condition or in danger of imminent failure.
Likewise, bridges in Oakland County, including some on Interstate 96 near the western boundary, are also getting attention.
Although the association trumpeted the county-by-county findings, it did not originate them. The numbers come from the Michigan Department of Transportation.
MITA has been around for only a few years. But we've known its forebears for many years before their 2005 merger: The Michigan Road Builders Association and Associated Underground Contractors.
The road builders in particular for years have told Michigan residents and legislators about the need for keeping our roads and bridges in better repair.
How can we fund them? MITA proposes increasing the gasoline tax in steps by 12 cents a gallon spread out over several years, increasing the tax on diesel fuel to the same rate as gasoline and hiking vehicle registration fees.
We don't propose to take a stand on any of those proposals. But the deterioration of our roads and bridges is a concern to anyone who uses them or depends on them, and that's all of us.
In Minneapolis in 2007, a bridge on I-35 failed, killing 13, injuring 145.
It shouldn't take such a catastrophic failure to nudge us to do what needs to be done.
http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2010/11/16/opinion/srv0000009977448.txt?viewmode=fullstory