>> That bridge opened in 1931. How aged are other
bridge crossings in Wisconsin? According to the
National Bridge Inventory, of the more than 14,000
bridges in this state, nearly a thousand are
classified as what they call structurally deficient. We
turn to Wisconsin Dot Bureau of Structures Director Josh
Dietsche for more. And thanks very much for being
here. to join.
a bridge to be structurally deficient?
>> So it's a term that probably sounds a little
scarier than it is really. It just means that there is
something, some kind of deterioration that's been
noted with the bridge. We always try to stress that.
That doesn't mean it's unsafe. If there's a bridge
open in the state, open to travel on. You can feel safe
traveling across it. >> So does Wisconsin have a
lot of older bridges, like the one like the Lansing
Bridge? >> Not many that are quite
as old as. >> The.
average age of the bridge is about 42 years old. So yeah,
something as old as the Lansing is a little bit
atypical. >> In Wisconsin. What
specific bridges need immediate repair or removal?
Are there any? >> Again, I would stress
that if it's open, it's safe. So we always have a
program where we're going in and rehabilitating or
replacing bridges. So you mentioned that there's over
14,000 bridges in the state. About 2% of those are
classified as being in poor condition. Kind of at a high
level. We as we inspect bridges, they get rated as
either good, fair or poor. And so again, with about 2%
of those bridges in poor condition, those are the
ones that we're focusing on. Again, not because they're
unsafe, not because you shouldn't be traveling over
them, but just because they're going to need some
work to keep them in service. In the near future.
So those are the ones that we've got in the program
that are in the planning stages for, you know, again,
getting some kind of rehabilitation or
potentially being replaced. >> How heavy of a lift is it
to inspect all of these? More than 14,000 bridges
across the state of Wisconsin?
are surprised when we talk about it that we do have
that many bridges in the state. You know, about the
big ones that you travel over. But there's so many
that are over just small creeks or small rivers that
you probably don't even realize where you're going
over a bridge. So yeah, of those 14,000, about 5000, a
little over 5000 are owned by the state, and the
remainder then are owned by local municipalities,
cities, villages, towns, and so on and so forth. So the
state bridges are inspected by mostly by state forces,
although we do use consultant engineers as
well. And the same thing on the local side, the local
side, they do have some local staff that will
inspect bridges, but they lean heavily on consultant
engineers as well. So when the bridges are in good
condition, basically new, they can be inspected on as
much as a four year cycle. But for the most part,
bridges are required to be inspected on a two year
cycle or as they get in that worst condition, into poor
condition on a on an annual basis. So yeah, it's a heavy
lift depending on the size of the bridge, it the larger
bridges may take up to a week to inspect some of the
larger bridges. Like you referenced the Lansing
Bridge or some of our more signature bridges. Others,
you know, it can be done in a morning or an afternoon.
But yes, it's definitely a pretty big effort.
>> We took a look at the work that's happening on
that bridge from De Soto to Lansing, and it made me
wonder, how tricky is it to repair bridges while they're
still in use? >> Yeah, it depends on the
situation. You know, obviously the traffic is a
big thing that plays into that, plays into that on.
You know, if you're trying to repair a bridge on the
interstate, there's going to be lane closures. There's a
there's a large bridge over the Wisconsin River just
north of Portage that's being replaced right now. If
you've driven through that area. And in that case,
you'll see lane closures or lane shifts. So it's
definitely possible. But yeah, it does present some
complications for sure. But again, we make we make sure
to do it in a way that is safe for sure. And as we try
to minimize the disruption to the traveling public as
much as we can. >> All right. Well, we are
all glad to know that the bridges are safe. John