Hundreds of bridges throughout the Bay State are “structurally deficient” and have severe issues, based on a brand new report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
“In Great Barrington, we have seven bridges on the Housatonic River,” Great Barrington resident Michael Wise mentioned Wednesday whereas standing subsequent to that city’s closed Cottage Street Bridge. “Every one of them was found to be structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.”
According to the report, of the 7,880 bridges tracked by MassDOT, 644 of them — or 1 in 12 — had been discovered to be structurally poor, which implies “that at least one major weight-bearing component of these structures has serious problems and is in need of repair or replacement.”
According to the report, 1 in 9 bridge crossings happens on a bridge with a structurally poor score.
The common Bay Stater lives 1.7 miles from a structurally poor bridge, based on the report, and solely 25% of bridges within the state are rated in “good” situation, in comparison with 45% nationally. About 1 in 13 bridges within the state have been given a weight restriction because of deterioration, based on the report.
“Bridges that are in disrepair are more likely to become closed or to prohibit heavy vehicles from crossing them. They pose a greater danger and become more costly in the future,” Phineas Baxandall, advocacy director for the middle and co-author of the brand new report, mentioned Wednesday.
“On average, every day in Massachusetts, 14.3 million crossings take place across structurally deficient bridges. That’s 165 vehicles every second. Without additional investment, conditions will deteriorate in the coming years,” he mentioned.
Proponents of a November poll measure to tax incomes over $1 million at a fee of 4% mentioned throughout a convention name with Baxandall Wednesday that the report simply highlights the necessity for extra transportation cash, which the poll measure will apparently fund.
“The Fair Share Amendment will provide additional resources dedicated to transportation for long-term, responsible, sustainable funding to improve the Commonwealth’s bridges, and only people who earn more than a million dollars a year will pay more,” Pete Wilson, senior advisor at Transportation for Massachusetts mentioned.
“Our crumbling infrastructure is dangerous, and it’s hurting our economy,” Collique Williams, an organizer with Community Labor United, mentioned beside the River Street Bridge in Boston, which has been closed since May.
“This bridge is an important part of this community. In the 30-plus years I’ve lived here, I’ve probably gone over this bridge over ten thousand times, going to and from school, or taking my nephew to school on my way to work. By passing Question 1 in November, we’ll have the ability to repair our crumbling bridges by making the very rich pay their fair share.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”