A 2020 audit conducted by the Seattle Board of Transportation found that the city’s bridge maintenance budget was exceedingly insufficient. This calculation of scant funding has only been further corroborated by various bridge closures and pier collapses that have transpired over the past years. The infrastructure in Seattle is suffering. This acknowledged, while the SDOT undeniably has a duty to maintain proper condition (and sustainability) of the city’s bridges, the solution may not be in increasing the budget, but instead in examining its department policies and using the existing funds more effectively.
It is unquestionable that the infrastructure in the City of Seattle needs assistance. According to the 2019 Federal Highway Administration pavement and bridge rating system, the #bridges in the City of Seattle are predominantly in fair and poor conditions. (They are rated on a scale of ‘Good,’ ‘Fair,’ and ‘Poor.’) This indicates that more work needs to be done to ensure that the bridges will be able to withstand long-term usage. Many of the city’s largest and busiest bridges (which carry anywhere from 20,000 to over 100,000 vehicles per day, on average,) are in ‘Poor’ condition. The closure of the West Seattle High bridge serves as proof that even bridges rated in ‘Fair’ condition can experience unexpected closings anytime, consequently causing tremendous suffering for thousands of residents. The bridges of Seattle must be attended to.
The audit revealed that it is common for bridge maintenance workers to perform reimbursable work for others, rather than dedicating time to actual bridge-maintenance. By their estimation, two out of every ten hours of SDOT’s bridge inspection and maintenance crew work are not being used on the upkeep of Seattle’s bridges, but to help supplement the department’s budget. The audit also shows SDOT’s lacking information about staffing levels needed for essential maintenance of bridges, which leads to further difficulties in planning. Even more, the SDOT was shown to have poor calculations of the useful life of the bridges, which inevitably causes inefficient responses on potential maintenance planning.
Though it is inarguable that the bridges and structures of Seattle need urgent attention and care, it has been made clear that progress will not come with a surface-level solution like increased funding. Rather, with careful analyses of departmental practices and implementation of meaningful spending, the bridges will finally get the foundation and support they desperately need.
