ChiTown Traffic Tattler

In launching a new Web site containing structural ratings for state-maintained bridges, the Illinois Department of Transportation promises to offer more access and be more transparency for motorists.

The initiative will allow motorists to learn how safe the state’s nearly 27,000 bridges are, according to a IDOT news release announcing Web site.

“We want the public to have access to the information that is important to them,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig said. “This is yet another example of Governor (Pat) Quinn’s vision to provide more transparency and accountability within state agencies, and we’re happy to do our part.”

The 313-foot Damen Avenue bridge over the north branch of the Chicago River -- which was built in 1999 and carries an average of 15,600 vehicles each day -- rated highly on its last inspection in October 2007. Its deck, superstructure and substructure rated an 8. (IDOT Photo)

The Web site lists safety ratings, conditions and bridge inspection reports, which are required every two years according to federal regulations. Bridges with deficient ratings must be inspected every year. The Web site excludes bridges that are maintained by municipalities, townships, counties, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority or the Chicago Skyway.

Some 1,582 state bridges are rated as structurally deficient and 674 bridges are in need of repairs or major overhauls.

According to Federal Highway Administration guidelines, each bridge is rated on a 0-to-9 scale for its deck condition, superstructure condition — beams that hold up the bridge — and substructure condition — which include the piers and other elements that support the beams.

Zero is the worst rating and requires the structure to be closed.

One of the worst-rated bridges in Chicago is the 335-foot Congress Parkway Bridge over the south branch of the Chicago River.

One of the worst-rated bridges in Chicago is the 335-foot Congress Parkway Bridge over the south branch of the Chicago River. In its August 2009 inspection, the Congress Parkway bridge received an overall rating of 2. (IDOT Photo)

In its August 2009 inspection, the Congress Parkway bridge received an overall rating of 2, which according to the IDOT Web site left it “intolerable and a high priority for replacement.”

Deck: Main driving surface.
Superstructure: The main load-carrying beams and other parts of the bridge.
Substructure: Piers, columns and other elements below the superstructure.

The bridge — which was constructed in 1956 and carries an average of 139,000 vehicles each day — received a rating of 4 in terms of deck and superstructure, while its substructure rated a 6.

In his report on IDOT’s new Web site, the Tribune’s Jon Hilkevitch brought up the condition of the Congress Parkway bridge, and wrote that its overall rating was the lowest possible rating for a bridge to remain in service.

IDOT plans to begin a $33-million rehabilitation of the bridge beginning in April 2010, according to IDOT’s Web site for the project.

Dubbed “The New Congress, A Bridge to Change”, the project’s first phase — from Wells Street to Canal Street — will reduce traffic from four lanes to two lanes inbound and one lane outbound. The second phase is scheduled to begin in Spring 2011 and finish in Fall 2011.

In a news release touting the Web site, IDOT admitted that it did not release as much bridge information over the last several years due to concerns over terrorism.

Then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration cited those concerns in 2007 in denying Freedom of Information requests about the condition of state bridges which flooded the state following the Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Hilkevitch wrote.

You can watch ABC7′s report on the IDOT’s new bridge safety Web site here.