Aging Bridges Leave States Suspended Between Federal Rules, High Repair Costs

When the politicians roll through town, Bertha Houchin presents them with pieces of the Chelyan Bridge that have fallen near her yard.

Every day, 40-ton coal trucks rumble over the old bridge. The vibrations tilt the pictures on Houchin’s walls and shake loose more bits of the bridge deck.

Chelyan Bridge, which stretches 1,359 feet over the Kanawha River, is crumbling around her.

“It’s another Silver Bridge waiting to happen,” said West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler.

It was the Silver Bridge that collapsed into the Ohio River 20 years ago Tuesday, killing 46 people. The disaster prompted federal regulations requiring states to inspect bridges every other year and to post weight limits for vehicles.

This month, however, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman James Burnett told a congressional committee that federal reviews of the state inspections had deteriorated into “paper audits” rather than on-site observations. The Reagan Administration wants to permit states to inspect bridges every four years, and Burnett said the frequency of inspections was less important than their thoroughness.

Weight Limits Ignored

West Virginia today, with a $3 million-a-year inspection program employing about 100 engineers and technicians, faces new problems--enforcing weight limits posted after inspections and finding enough money to fix dilapidated bridges.

In the case of the Chelyan Bridge, loaded coal trucks weighing 40 tons rumble past the 12-ton weight limit sign and clank over steel plates that cover holes in the bridge deck.

Resident Dick Gilliand recalled that a state snowplow turning onto the bridge last winter fell through the bridge sidewalk up to its axles.

State Highway Commissioner Bill Ritchie allowed that “once in a while some overloaded trucks sneak by,” but he said they are few enough to present no danger.

Houchin disagreed. She said that heavy trucks, including tractor-trailers, cross the bridge day and night, and her house vibrates with each one. She said she calls the Highways Department every six weeks or so to report new holes.

“We have bumper stickers around here that say, ‘Pray to the Lord, I use Chelyan Bridge,’ ” said resident Joyce McPhail.

Costly Steel Supports

The state will spend almost half a million dollars this winter to replace corroded steel beams on the bridge, but the repairs will only bring the bridge up to its 12-ton limit. Without them, Ritchie said, the load limit would have to be reduced.

A $1.6-million federal grant is paying for a three-year design study for a replacement, although funds for the $18-million bridge have not been worked out.

Ritchie acknowledges that West Virginia’s bridges are falling into disrepair faster than the state can keep up.

“We’re replacing 50 bridges a year, and about 150 a year need it,” Ritchie said. “We’re backed up with about 4,000 bridges that need repair.” West Virginia has 6,700 state-owned bridges.

Hechler said West Virginia has worsened its bridge problems by allowing overweight coal trucks to tear up existing structures.

“I’ve had innumerable problems trying to get the Department of Highways and the state police together to jointly stop the illegal overweight trucks,” Hechler said. “Commissioner Ritchie says it will hurt the economy to force coal trucks to stay within the limits.”

Part of the problem is that bridges that can accomodate the heavy trucks are not always handy. For a coal truck to avoid the Chelyan bridge, for example, the driver would have to head downriver for a 14-mile detour through Charleston.