MUNCIE — Thirteen percent of the bridges in Delaware County are deficient.
That number is even higher — 17 percent — if you believe the warnings from groups that monitor problem bridges.
In the wake of bridge collapses around the nation in recent years, proponents of repairs and replacement to our nation's aging infrastructure worry that more bridges — weakened by high water, vehicle crashes and the passing of decades — will fail, causing loss of life, damage to property and delays and detours for highly-traveled routes.
Delaware County officials — who are responsible for all public bridges in the city of Muncie and county other than state highway bridges — say they believe they're doing their best to monitor, repair and replace deficient bridges.
The task is not a small one, however: The county has 194 bridges on its official inventory list, although that only counts those bridges 20 feet long or longer. There are hundreds of smaller bridges out there.
And replacing a major bridge can cost millions of dollars and can take years.
The county's short-term — as in the next four years — bridge priority list includes replacing or repairing bridges like those that carry Tillotson Avenue in Muncie and Tiger Drive in Yorktown. Those projects will have huge impacts on traffic to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and Yorktown schools, respectively.
County officials learned recently that the decision to close a 110-year old bridge in Albany, for replacement and relocation, can prompt protests even years after a decision has been made.
"People don't say anything about a bridge until it's closed," Commissioner Shannon Henry told The Star Press.