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Plattsmouth, Bellevue bridges score low in studyBy Joel StevensAssistant EditorMills County's two bridges traversing the Missouri River scored among the lowest of the 14 bridges connecting Iowa and Nebraska, according to a 2006 study by the U.S. Department of Transportation.In the aftermath of the tragic rush-hour collapse of the Interstate 35-West Bridge in Minneapolis on Aug. I that killed nine and injured nearly 100. bridge safety and inspection procedures have moved to the forefront of discussions of the nation's aging infrastructure.Iowa Governor Chet Culver ordered immediate inspections of the state's deck-arch, truss bridges, similar in design to the Minneapolis Bridge. Culver also recommended an immediate review of the Department of Transportation bridge safety inspection procedures for the state’s 24,825 bridges.As governor. lowans’ public safety will continue to be my top priority and I will do everything in my power to ensure Iowa bridges are safe, the governor said in a press release.The Plattsmouth Bridge, a privately owned. 78-year-old toll bridge in southwestern Mills County, scored the lowest among Iowa’s 14 Missouri River bridges with a sufficiency rating of 22.1 on a scale of 100.The Bellevue Bridge, which was built in 1952 and connects Nebraska and Iowa via Highway 370. scored better with a 49.5 out of 100. but still well below national averages.In 2006. the Minneapolis Interstate 35W Bridge was assigned a sufficiency rating of 50 and deemed structurally deficient” and possibly in need of replacement, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.The Federal Highway Administration bridge sufficiency rating is calculated on a scale of 1 to 100for the National Bridge Inventory. 100 being the highest.The rating is determined by a complex bridge inspection process, which examines its structural components and factors in the bridge's width, the length of a detour should a bridge he closed, average daily traffic on the bridge and the condition of the deck, superstructure and substructure.Any bridge in Iowa found to be unsafe is removed from service until it can be returned to a safe state of operation or replaced, said Dan Franklin, spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Transportation.They are inspected regularly and if they aren't safe then they aren’t used,” said Franklin. If there are concerns there may be a weight embargo but if there is a serious question about a bridge’s safety they are closed. We make sure every bridge is safe in the state.Bridges in Iowa are required to be inspected every two years.HGM. a Council Bluffs firm, recently completed an inspection of Mills County's more than 200 bridges. Mills County Engineer Kevin Mayberry has yet to see the final report on that inspection, but he considers the county’s bridges to be in “generally good shape.”Excluded from Mayberry’s supervision. however, are the Plattsmouth Bridge and the Bellevue Bridge. The Plattsmouth Bridge is privately-owned by the Plattsmouth Bridge Company, and the Bellevue Bridge is the responsibility of the TransportationDepartment and the NebraskaDepartment of Roads.While Mayberry admits both of the bridges scored low in sufficiency rating, neither, in his opinion, are dangerous.I have confidence both bridges aren't any danger to anyone.” he said.See Bridges, Page 3ATho Rnttnm I ino
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