Economic Impact of Closing Low-Volume Rural Bridges in Kansas Eric J. Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.
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Economic Impact of Closing Low-Volume Rural Bridges in Kansas
Eric J. Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.Tom Mulinazzi, Ph.D., P.E., L.S.Steven D. Schrock, Ph.D., P.E.
Mid-Continent Transportation Research SymposiumAmes, Iowa
August 15-16, 2013Session 3F: Local Roads Considerations
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Background and Objectives
• The state of Kansas has approximately 25,500 bridges
• Limited county resources restrict rebuilding or repairing bridges
• Structurally deficient bridges
• Functionally obsolete bridges
• Bridge inspection and engineering studies have shown the need to close or repair/replace a low-volume bridge
• The decision to act on this lies with the county commissioners
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Study Objective and Research Gap
• To determine a cost comparison of replacing and/or repairing a rural low volume structurally deficient bridge versus closing the bridge and finding the change in vehicle operating cost based on the proposed driver detour
• Very limited research in this area, however studies have investigated closing segments of rural roadway – particularly in Kansas (Babcock and Alakshendra, 2012)
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KDOT Data
• National Bridge Inventory Database• Two-wheel path unpaved roads (very low volume)• Average Daily Traffic (ADT) = 25 vehicles per day or less• 1,321 bridges met this criteria
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Data Reduction and Detour Length Determination
• Each bridge was verified that it existed through Google maps• Inspection dates were as far back as 1994• Variables included
– Latitude/Longitude, structure type, inspection date, deck area• In many cases bridges were removed or culvert installed• 992 total bridges were found to exist in the data set
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Data Reduction and Detour Length Determination
• If bridge 380 was to be closed and a farm was located at point A:
– What is the detour distance from point A to point B?
– Distance measured in Google Earth
– Shortest detour length approximately
3 miles AB
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Location of Structurally Deficient Bridges and Detour Length
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Descriptive Analysis
• Significant number of structurally deficient bridges had a detour of less than or equal to 2 miles
• Most bridges were found to be steel followed by timber
• 6 bridges had at least an 11 mile detour
• Longest detour found was 20 miles in western Kansas
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Analysis
• Study assumptions– Rural roadway volume and the typical number of daily trips was unknown
– 80/20 split cars and trucks
• Estimated user and infrastructure costs– $0.60 per mile for a car
– $1.00 per mile for a truck or farm implement
– $150,000 estimated bridge replacement cost by KDOT
– 75 year bridge lifespan
– $2,000 per year assuming yearly maintenance and inspection costs
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Study Results
• Based on the stated assumptions a threshold was developed
• It was found a bridge should be closed with an ADT less than 8 and detour length less than 9 miles
• Increasing vehicle operating costs to the driver over the life of the bridge far outweighed the cost of a new bridge
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Survey of Practice
• An electronic survey was conducted in March 2012• Sent to all 105 Kansas counties• 29 counties responded
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Survey of Practice
Q1. Has your jurisdiction ever closed a bridge on a low-volume roadway?
• Saline County• Leavenworth County• Montgomery County• Sherman County• Generally a limited number or no bridges have been closed
during their careers
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Survey of Practice
Q2. What criteria were used to determine that the bridges needed to be closed?
• Saline County’s plan• Maintenance costs and traffic operations• If land-locked, repair the bridge• Low-water stream crossing is always an alternative• Bridge substructure condition
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Survey of Practice
Q3. Has your jurisdiction ever tried to close a bridge, but was unable to due to other reasons?
• Local politics• Land owners requested to keep the bridge open• County commissioners did not want to make the tough call• Counties have worked with the Kansas Historical Society to
keep a structurally deficient bridge open
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Survey of Practice
Q4. Does your jurisdiction have a standard cost to repair a structurally deficient or functionally obsolete or unsafe bridge on a low-volume road?
• Most did not• Seven responses• $50 to $100 per square foot• $50,000 to $250,000 for typical bridge replacement
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Survey of Practice
Q5. Would your jurisdiction be interested in an electronic copy of the final report?
• All of the counties responded “yes”
Now available online or through the Kansas DOT libraryhttp://ntl.bts.gov/lib/47000/47000/47089/KS-13-1_Final.pdf
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Discussion and Conclusions
• A significant number of rural bridges in Midwest states are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete that are maintained by local jurisdictions
• Repairing or replacing these bridges are expensive for counties with limited infrastructure budget
• It was anticipated at the beginning of the study that a large number of bridges would be in the “close bridge” category
• This study was designed as a complimentary information in which county commissioners can use to determine if a bridge should be close or kept open to traffic
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Acknowledgements and Contact Information
• Kansas Department of Transportation– Ron Seitz, Bureau of Local Projects
Steven D. SchrockAssociate ProfessorDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Architectural EngineeringThe University of Kansas2159B Learned Hall, 1530 West 15th [email protected]