1 in 5 P.E.I. highway bridges are rated 'poor' and most are still in use

The bridge on Settlement Road in Lynndale, P.E.I. has seen better days.

Its timbers are rotted and covered in moss. The province has posted signs that read "bridge out" and has placed concrete barriers across the clay road to keep vehicles off.

It's among the 20 per cent of highway structures deemed to be in poor condition in a report by the Department of Transportation.

"Some are wood, some are older concrete or steel. These are structures that have been around 40, 50, 60 years," said Darrell Evans, assistant director of capital projects with the Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy.

The inspection ratings are contained in a report compiled earlier this year for the department. Provincial staff and private contractors conducted visual inspections of 251 bridges as part of ongoing monitoring underway since 2011. Just over half of all inspected bridge (53 per cent) were found to be in good condition and 27 per cent were rated fair.

Most of the bridges in poor condition remain in service.  

"It's not synonymous with structural inadequacy. They're still safe for traffic," said Evans. "If they're not, we'll do something to the structure, either post it for weight restrictions, or we might end up closing it."

Eleven bridges have been closed in recent years, according to the province, including a bridge on Stephen Road in Dunblane which was closed Sept. 7.

Another seven have had weight restrictions placed on them. Three of those bridge were posted last month; in Searletown, Peakes and Head of Montague.

The province is looking into replacing the Searletown bridge next year, according to Evans. Other repairs are carried out as time and money permit. Deficiencies typically include cracks in concrete and corrosion of steel.

Budget from a safety standpoint

"We take our budget. We allocate it as we see fit, technically fit, from a safety standpoint," said Evans. "We're not going to get everywhere at once. We just don't have that many dollars in our coffers."

The overall condition of bridges has continued to improve since the monitoring program began, according to Evans.

The capital projects budget runs $5 million to $7 million a year.

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