DOT declares our bridges safe

Despite some New York bridges being put in the same category as the doomed Minnesota overpass, operators are reassuring drivers they are safe crossing over waterways.
“There is no reason to be afraid,” said Adam Levine, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT).
Because of the Minneapolis calamity, bridges across the country are being examined to make sure the same disaster does not happen again.
Levine said DOT bridges are inspected every two years and if immediate repairs are needed, they are started. Levine did not know if any DOT bridges in the last five years have failed inspection and needed immediate repairs. The DOT operates the East River bridges and many smaller bridges in the city.
“Structurally deficient” is the label given to bridges that may be in need of repair - the Minnesota bridge received this rating. Levine said some of the bridges in New York have received the same rating, but it is not necessarily a cause for concern. The distinction is given to bridges built before modern transportation engineering practices.
Levine said something as mundane as a sidewalk with a tripping hazard or a bridge with narrow lanes can cause the bridge to be labeled as “structurally deficient.”
Despite the DOT saying there is no cause for concern, the City Council’s Transportation Committee chaired by John C. Liu has called for a hearing in September to discuss bridge safety.
Liu said in a statement, “While bridge safety overall appears to be improving there are still troubling inconsistencies in the way government monitors our bridge infrastructure and prioritizes repair work.”
Governor Eliot Spitzer has already responded to the disaster issuing an order to inspect the bridges in New York that are similar to the one that collapsed in Minneapolis, Levine said.
One of the bridges ordered for inspection is in Queens, the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in Rockaway. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is aware this bridge has been designated for inspection, but Director of Public Affairs of Bridges & Tunnels for the MTA Joyce Mulvaney said the crossway passed with “flying colors” during its last inspection.
The MTA released a statement late last week telling drivers their bridges are in good condition. All of their bridges are rated on a scale of 1 to 7 and all are rated 4 or above, meaning they are structurally sound and do not have restrictions.
The Throgs Neck, The Bronx-Whitestone, and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial bridges are scheduled for their biannual inspection this year. The Triborough Bridge was inspected last year.
Mulvaney said the inspection of the bridge is a months-long process that checks everything down to individual bolts.
Because the cause of the Minnesota collapse is still unknown, Mulvaney said it was too soon to say if the MTA would change any of the inspection practices.
Mulvaney said, “If [the bridges] weren’t safe you wouldn’t be driving on them.”