The scenic Stevenson dam bridge is probably the best known bridge in all the Naugatuck Valley, offering sweeping views of the Housatonic River as it passes between Oxford and Monroe.
But the bridge is also one of those considered structurally deficient in the Valley, according to a report by Transportation for America, a lobbying and transportation advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
The group, which shines a light on bridges that could become dangerous if not repaired, reported last month that the bridge, built in 1919, has a superstructure and substructure rating of 4, out of a scale of 0 to 9, and a deck rating of 5 on that scale.
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“It doesn’t mean the bridge is about to fall down. It just needs immediate attention and close monitoring,” said David Goldberg, spokesman for the organization.
The rating system of 0 to 9 means anything below four is deficient, and needs immediate maintenance, he explained.
The deck is the asphalt part that cars drive on. The superstructure is the skeleton of the bridge. The substructure is the underpinning, like concrete slabs in the water.
In all, six bridges in the Valley appear on the group’s annual list of deficient bridges.
Here’s the list from Transportation for America, along with a line of explanation from the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
Route 67, Little River, Seymour
20,200 cars per day
Built: 1950
Deck: 7
Superstructure: 4
Substructure: 5
Last inspection December 2008.
State DOT says: A superstructure rehabilitation at a cost of $2.5 million is scheduled for summer of 2013.
Maple Street, above Naugatuck River, Ansonia
10,300 cars per day
Built: 1958
Deck: 3
Superstructure: 5
Substructure: 5
Last inspection: March 2010
DOT says: A $4.1 million project is underway now, replacing the deck and installing erosion protection. To be completed in September this year.
Route 8 ramp over Hull Avenue and Riverdale Avenue, Shelton.
Cars per day: Unavailable
Built: 1990
Deck: 7
Superstructure: 6
Substructure: 4
Last inspection April 2009
DOT says: A $2.8 million renovation project is underway, repairing gusset plates, installing new joints and rehabilitating piers.
Route 34, crossing the Naugatuck River, Derby
39,200 vehicles per day
Built: 1959
Deck: 4
Superstructure: 6
Substructure: 5
Last inspection January 2008
DOT says A deck replacement at a cost of roughly $11 million is scheduled for 2012.
Route 34 crossing the Housatonic River at the Stevenson Dam, Oxford
10,300 cars per day
Built: 1919
Deck: 5
Superstructure: 4
Substructure: 4
Last inspection October 2009
DOT says:Long-term solution is to replace the bridge with another upriver at a cost of more than $90 million. Not scheduled.
Route 34 crossing Four Mile Brook, Oxford
11,200 cars a day
Built: 1930
Deck: 5
Superstructure: 5
Substructure: 4
Last inspection March 2009
DOT says: No project is scheduled, but close monitoring of the substructure is ongoing.
Response
The Valley Indy questioned the state Department of Transportation about Transportation for America’s bridge list. A spokesman said the bottom line is it would not allow the public to travel on unsafe bridges.
“Structurally deficient does not mean it’s not safe,” said Kevin Nursick, spokesman for the DOT.
He said the bridges are inspected once every two years, and what is called structural deficiency is not correlated with a safety issue.
Nursick said the organization’s list of bridges comes out once a year. The information essentially comes from the DOT’s own database. Nursick characterized the group as a lobbying group for the bridge construction industry.
Goldberg, told of that characterization, disagreed, saying the group has members it represents from a broad spectrum, including the American Association of Retired Persons and the National Association of Realtors.
“It couldn’t be farther from the truth,” he said. “We’re concerned about the condition of bridges. Somebody’s got to be paying attention.”
One Valley organization with a keen eye on transportation infrastructure is the Valley Council of Governments.
The bridge study came as no surprise there. Connecticut is dealing with lots of old infrastructure, just like the rest of New England, said David Elder, senior regional planner for the agency.
Elder said the bridges are under frequent maintenance.
“It’s difficult to close down a bridge on Route 34, so you maintain them,” Elder said.
Most of the bridge repair money in the Valley has come from the federal government, he said. His agency helps to allocate the funds.
He is familiar with the ranking system, and saw no cause for alarm.
“Not all deficient bridges need immediate repair, but the classification means it does need attention,” Elder said. “It could be the deck you drive on, the paving, or a structural deficiency, which has different meanings.”
He pointed to the closed downtown bridge in Ansonia as an example of how a bridge would be immediately closed if it were a serious issue.
“That doesn’t normally happen,” he said.
Because of the number of the listed bridges in Oxford, Oxford First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers was asked if the study raised red flags of concern for her.
She said she was not familiar with that particular study group, but does rely on the studies that come down from the state Department of Transportation.
She said bridges always need to be examined and she looks at the reports that come from the state.
“We don’t have any that are in danger at this time,” she said.
Derby Mayor Tony Staffieri expressed a similar confidence in the work the state Department of Transportation does.
“I’m told we are in a safe time period, we still have time to repair. We’re not in any kind of danger,” Staffieri said.
All of the bridges on the list for the Valley are scheduled for some maintenance work soon, according to Nursick, who said the one project already underway is the Hull ramp in Shelton, where a $2.8 million improvement project is ongoing.
