Substandard Road Bridges in North Carolina (Winston-Salem, Wilson: maintenance, safety, housing)

[SunnyKayak]

The number of permanently closed bridges declined from 37 to 32. However the number of bridges with weight restrictions for safety reasons increased 6.5 percent to 4,682.

For the sixth year in a row, the Interstate 40 Business bridge in Forsyth County (Winston-Salem) that passes over State
Route 4315 ranks as the state’s worst substandard bridge, according to AAA Carolinas. The 52-year-old bridge, which
carries 476,000 vehicles a week, is scheduled to be replaced in 2013.

The No. 2 bridge, which carries Interstate 440 over SR 3007 and Southern Railroad in Wake County, is set to be part of a widening project that isn’t yet on the calendar.

• Burke (45.1 percent), Cabarrus (44.1 percent), Transylvania (43.4 percent), Hyde (42.3 percent) and Vance (42.1 percent) counties have the highest percentage of substandard bridges.
Counties with the smallest percentage are Gates (11.6 percent), Perquimans (15.4 percent), Jones (15.8 percent), Wilson (16.1 percent and Richmond (17.0 percent).
Buncombe, Guilford, Wake, Forsyth and Wilkes counties have the highest number of substandard bridges.
Tyrrell, Gates, Perquimans, Camden and Currituck counties have the fewest substandard bridges. Tyrrell and Gates have just 5.The third through fifth worst substandard bridges, according to AAA Carolinas, are the following

The NC24/87/210 bridge over CSX Railroad and Hillsboro St. in Cumberland County (51 years old, carries 287,000 vehicles a week).
The US Highway 17 bridge over New River in Onslow County (64 years old, carries 357,000 vehicles a week).
The Housing Conn. Road bridge over US Highway 19/23 in Buncombe County (37 years old, carries 434,000 vehicles a week).
North Carolina currently has the 11th highest percentage of substandard bridges among all states and the worst ranking in its region.
Neighboring state percentages:
South Carolina (24%), Virginia (22%), Tennessee (19%) and Georgia (20%).
However, North Carolina maintains 17,231 bridges, more than twice the number maintained by Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee and nearly 50 percent more than the number maintained by Virginia, making it more difficult to keep pace
with infrastructure maintenance needs.

• NC recorded 30.5 percent of its bridges as substandard in January 2005. In January 2006, 31.2 percent of its bridges
were rated substandard. January 2007, North Carolina’s substandard bridges make up 30.6 percent of the states bridges
• The average age of AAA’s top 20 substandard bridges, which carry a total of 6.5 million vehicle miles weekly, is now
47.3 years old.

[cooperwx]

What is a substandard bridge? One that is too narrow? One that doesn't have proper guard rails? One that carries too much traffic for the number of lanes?