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The 110 Freeway Has A Lot Of 'Structurally Deficient' Bridges, Says Report
The 7th Street bridge over the 110 Freeway. (Photo by Andy Sternberg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
Of the nation's "structurally deficient" bridges, L.A. County is home to the seven most-traveled ones, according to a report by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. What's particularly revealing is that, of those seven, six of them are on the 110 Freeway, reports CBS 2.
“There are definitely some challenges out in California,” Alison Premo Black, chief economist for research group, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram. “Some of these are very well-traveled interstates, part of our national freight network. There are some economic repercussions when these bridges aren’t performing as they should be.”
The problem spots of the 110 include bridges that go over Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena Blvd., and Alondra Blvd.; all these locations reside along the eastern border of Gardena. All the 110 bridges in the top seven were built in either the 1950s or '60s. The study estimates that more than 200,000 commuters traverse these bridges on a daily basis.
Of the 25 most-traveled problem bridges in California, 10 of them are in L.A. County, seven are in Orange County, and three are in San Diego County.
The situation isn't quite as dire as the term "structurally deficient" may portray. As noted at NBC 4, the bridges aren't necessarily in immediate danger. Rather, they require rehabilitation or a replacement of a certain component. Also, the report suggests that California may have a rosy future ahead (as far as, eh, bridges go). The data shows that there's been a 30.9% decline in structurally deficient bridges between 2015 and 2016—the largest improvement among all states.
As noted at the Press Telegram, California had ranked fifth in 2013 when it came to having the most deficient bridges. The report for 2016 shows that we've come in at 14th. That trend, hypothetically, should continue with the passing of Measure M in November. The measure is expected to pay for, among other things, retrofitting bridges to make them earthquake-prepared.
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