Condition of Granite State Bridges Worse Than National Average, According to Recent Report from The Road Information Program

CONCORD, N.H.--March 18, 2004--

The Deterioration of Bridges Remains a Serious Concern to New Hampshire Drivers

You've probably never given a second thought to driving over the bridges in your community, trusting that a bridge is able to support your car, a child's school bus, or an ambulance trying to reach a patient. Maybe you'll think twice, however, when you drive under one of the 955 bridges that need to be repaired or replaced according to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT).

The quickly expanding list of bridges in need of improvement puts New Hampshire residents and tourists at risk for accidents, according to Lyman Cousens, executive director of the Safety & Health Council of NH, which is a member of A Safer Road to Tomorrow, a group that educates New Hampshire residents about the importance of meeting the increased demands on roads, bridges and highways. Bridge deterioration also raises maintenance costs and adds to traffic congestion due to the bridge restrictions and maintenance projects, according to Cousens.

According to the NHDOT, bridge projects in New Hampshire's 10-year transportation plan are consistently under-funded, prolonging the time it takes to make them safe and convenient for both people and goods to travel. In fact, 15 percent of New Hampshire's bridges are designated as "structurally deficient," topping the national average of 13 percent, according to a recent study by Washington D.C.-based The Road Information Program (TRIP). According to TRIP, at the current rate, the Granite State will have 385 bridges in poor condition by 2009.

The worst of the bridges are the Red List bridges, which are bridges requiring periodic inspections due to known structural deficiencies, poor conditions, weight restrictions or type of construction. Of the 155 Red List bridges identified by the NHDOT, only three or four can be repaired annually, which means that if no other bridges were added to the current list, it would take 50 years to fix them all. An additional 165 state-maintained bridges are registered by the NHDOT as being in poor condition, defined as "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete."

"Without repair or replacement, these obsolete bridges put at risk New Hampshire residents' safety and quality of life and the state's ability to move goods and products," said Cousens. "For the few bridges that are repaired each year, more bridges are added to the list."

A Safer Road to Tomorrow is a group comprised of leading public and private safety, transportation, construction, law enforcement and business organizations in New Hampshire. Partners of A Safer Road to Tomorrow include: Safety & Health Council of NH, Business and Industry Association of NH, NH Association of Chiefs of Police, NH Lodging & Restaurant Association and Associated General Contractors of NH. To learn more about this important issue, visit our Web site at www.saferoadsnh.com.

Digital photographs of the following structurally deficient bridges according the NHDOT's Red List are available to download by visiting http://www.saferoadsnh.com/media/.

-- Bartlett - US 302 over the Conway Scenic Line portion of the New Hampshire Railroad. (This bridge is listed on the NHDOT Red List as being in "very poor condition, needs to be replaced.")

-- Colebrook - NH 26 over the Mohawk River. (This bridge is listed on the NHDOT Red List as "needing to be replaced, girders heavily rusted.")

-- Pembroke - Main St. over the Suncook River. (This bridge is listed on the NHDOT Red List as "in poor condition, needs to be replaced.")

-- Enfield - Main Street over Mascoma Lake (Listed on the NHDOT Red List as "in poor condition, needs to be replaced.")

-- Franklin - New Hampshire Railroad over NH 127 (Listed on the NHDOT Red List as "needs to be removed due to poor abutments and holes in the road surface.")

-- Manchester - I-293 Fee Turnpike over Granite Street. (Listed on the NHDOT Red List as "needs to be replaced due to poor road surface.")

-- Nashua - Baldwin Street over Boston Main Railroad (Listed on the NHDOT Red List as "needs to be replaced due to poor road surface and a low capacity limit of 6 tons.")

-- Portsmouth - NH 33 over US 1 Bypass. (Listed on the NHDOT Red List as "needs to be replaced due to poor road surface.")

-- Salem - Cross Street over I-93. (Listed on the NHDOT Red List as "needs to be replaced due to poor road surface.")

-- Swanzey - NH 32 over Martin Brook. (Listed on the NHDOT Red List as "needs to be rehabbed due to poor road surface.")