New York’s Most Dangerous Bridges

Despite mandates, Comptroller Liu says DOT is slow to respond

The tricky Brooklyn Bridge - photo by PeterKellyStudios

Don’t forget your swimmies.

Comptroller John C. Liu said yesterday that after a 2009-10 city audit on the safety of its bridges, the Department of Transportation still has yet to make some obligatory repairs. And considering bridges can already be somewhat eerie, that’s a bit disconcerting.

This audit, performed by the Audit Bureau, found that, of 122 “Red Flag” defects, which are dangerous defects and must be fixed within six weeks of DOT notification, 71 were not acted upon in time and, furthermore, were not being monitored for further deterioration.

The DOT did act quickly on all but one of 112 Prompt Interim Actions after the initial report, which are defects deemed very dangerous and require remediation within 24 hours, but Comptroller Liu’s statements, over two years later, do make one think: On which New York bridges should I hold my breath?

A new April 2012 list was released with bridge-safety overall “ratings” and the DOT deems that any rating below a five on total scale of seven denotes a “deficiency” in bridge safety. Furthermore, in 2009, Crown Point Bridge, a pass between northeast New York and Vermont, was deemed too unsafe and destroyed with a 3.375 rating.

Below, based on this consensus, are New York’s most dangerous bridges:

• Triborough Bridge on Randall’s Island, crossing over the FDR – 2.89 rating
• Brooklyn Bridge crossing over I-278 Brooklyn-Queens Expressway – 2.94 rating
• Brooklyn Bridge crossing over the FDR at Pearl – 3.78 rating
• Part of the FDR crossing over South Street – 3.73 rating
• Part of the 11th avenue Viaduct crossing over the Long Island Railroad West – 3.75 rating

These bridges, although not all major overpasses, and not all named, are consistently deteriorating, so hopefully Comptroller Liu’s words will hold some weight in the eyes of the DOT, and we don’t all re-enact an Indiana Jones scene.

Don’t look down.