(The Associated Press circulated the following on August 22.)
TRENTON, N.J. — The state Department of Transportation has given all entities owning a bridge in New Jersey 30 days to update inspection and structural information to ensure that they’re in compliance with national inspection standards.
The move comes amid continued concern about bridge safety following the recent collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, which killed 13 people.
A recent state report on the 6,400 large bridges in New Jersey found 4,200 bridges in good condition, but 1,500 obsolete bridges and about 700 deficient spans. The report was ordered by Gov. Corzine after the Minnesota tragedy.
State Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said New Jersey already has inspection information on file on all bridges in the state, but he said he wants to ensure that the information is complete and updated.
He noted that Salem County officials recently closed a bridge on Route 642 in Oldmans after an inspection. He said that and similar moves wouldn’t have been included in the report sent to the governor.
“We have the information now and we want to make sure we have the most up-to-date information,” Kolluri said.
Bridges must be inspected every two years under federal standards.
The state owns about 2,500 bridges, and Kolluri said the state meets the federal requirements.
Kolluri said the directive requiring that the updated inspection information be filed with the state within 30 days was sent to counties, municipalities, bistate bridge agencies, NJ Transit, toll road authorities and private bridge owners.
Those entities own a total of about 4,000 bridges.