Hampton Roads Regional Bridge Study

INTRODUCTION 1
INTRODUCTION
Bridges are a prominent part of the Hampton Roads landscape. Major
spans such as the Coleman Bridge, James River Bridge, and High Rise
Bridge provide a connection between distinct areas of the region. Bridges
on the Interstate system create a limited access network designed to
improve mobility into and throughout the region. Other bridges provide a
grade separation that allows traffic to cross intersections without stopping.
And smaller structures such as culverts span the myriad of creeks,
swamps, and waterways in our region.
As bridges both in Hampton Roads and throughout the country age,
maintaining these structures has been difficult. The costs of constructing
bridges can be four to six times higher than typical urban roadway
reconstruction costs according to VDOT planning level estimates. This
additional cost has contributed to funding not keeping up with bridge
maintenance needs. As of 2009, FHWA estimated 1 that $71 billion was
needed to address the national backlog of nearly 150,000 deficient
bridges.
Because of the importance of bridges to the regional transportation system
and concerns about the condition and funding of bridges, the Hampton
Roads Transportation Planning Organization in 2007 began analyzing
factors impacting regional bridges. The Hampton Roads Regional Bridge
Study for the first time provided a regional analysis of bridge topics such
as bridge inspections and ratings, deficient bridges, bridge funding and
projects, and the impacts that the closure of major bridges would have on
Hampton Roads travel patterns.
This 2012 update of the Hampton Roads Regional Bridge Study builds on
the previous study. Sections in this update include:
Bridge Definitions – This section includes the definition of a
bridge used in this study and details the different types of bridges.
1 FHWA, Computation of Apportionment of the Highway Bridge Program Funds for Fiscal Year 2009.
Accessed from http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/revfy09comptables.pdf.
Virginia Port Authority
JAMES RIVER BRIDGE VDOT
Regional Bridge Summary – This section includes summaries of
bridges in Hampton Roads by ownership, type of service,
length/area, and year built.
Bridge Inspections and Ratings – Based on detailed inspections,
bridge inspectors assign ratings to various components of each
bridge. This section describes these components and how each
of them is rated.
Deficient Bridges – This section describes how bridges become
classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and
includes a summary of those bridges in Hampton Roads that are
deficient. Details are also included on bridges with posted
weight limits.
Fracture and Scour Critical Bridges – This section defines fracture
critical and scour critical bridges, and details those bridges in
Hampton Roads that are classified as fracture or scour critical.
Sufficiency Ratings – Sufficiency ratings are numerical
assessments given to each bridge based on a variety of factors.
This section describes sufficiency ratings and provides a summary
of Hampton Roads bridges with low sufficiency ratings.
HAMPTON James City/Williamsburg/York ROADS REGIONAL Transportation BRIDGE STUDY Study