BRIDGE POSTING TODAY By JOHN McCREE Illinois Department of Transportation

Recently the bridges in Illinois, especially on local highways, have undergone close examination by Federal, State and local highway authorities. This is becoming apparent to many of the motorists who use these bridges — more bridges posted with weight limit signs and more bridges closed to travel. The first impression that many motorists have is undoubtedly a negative one, and it probably raises many questions in their minds. However, the fact is that there are many old, weak and inadequate structures that for many years have not been posted or closed even though they should have been. It is, in fact, in the best interest of the motoring public and local governments to post these bridges. Granted, there will undoubtedly be some amount of inconvenience (especially for heavy vehicles, farmers and school buses) but the advantages of bridge posting far outweigh the disadvantages as I will point out later.

Until about two years ago, less than 50% of the local bridges in Illinois for which posting or closure had been recommended by the Illinois Department of Transportation had actually been posted or closed. This was in direct violation of Federal and State statutes.

Aggressive actions taken by all concerned during the last two years have transformed our posting compliance from a dismal level to a current 94% with anticipation of further improvement in the near future. Bridges requiring posting that were improperly posted or not posted at all are now being properly posted. Deficient railroad and private bridges carrying public roads which never before were posted are now being posted due to increased awareness and clarification of Federal and State statutes. Sign maintenance programs have been initiated to repair or replace downed, damaged or obstructed signs. Some local agencies are marking their signs with clear warnings to vandals of prosecution and; as a result, sign theft and vandalism have decreased sharply in many areas.

As I mentioned earlier in the article, there are many positive benefits to be derived from accomplishing your bridge postings. Bridge postings, when obeyed, can help increase the useful life of many bridges and decrease the possibility of overload failures and the resulting long term inconvenience to motorists. Properly placed signs located sufficiently ahead of bridges allow the driver ample time to make a safe decision and advance warning signs placed at the nearest intersections to a bridge are a convenience that eliminates backtracking and wasted driving time. Not enough can be said nor can any value be placed on the safety of children aboard school buses which use many of these bridges. What worthwhile benefit could possibly be derived from failure to post dangerous bridges when compared to the potential losses associated with bridge related accidents? Local officials are becoming more and more aware of the liability implications which can result from ignoring the intent of the law. Bridge posting provides security against costly lawsuits and damage awards which are so frequent today. Citizens become more concerned with local officials when they feel they are not adequately protected from a catastrophic bridge failure than by being inconvenienced due to a bridge being posted or closed.

Continued compliance with the Federally mandated bridge inspection, rating and posting program will decrease the possibility of sanctions by the Federal government and assure continuation of bridge funding until all of our deficient bridges have been replaced.

The cost of load limit signs and their maintenance is far less than the cost of lost lives, lawsuits and forfeited bridge funding. We at every level of Illinois government should do our very best to provide every assurance to the public that we are dedicated to highway safety and that all of our bridges are safe to use. •

Page 16 / Illinois Municipal Review / February 1987