Bridges - Due or past due for rehabilitation

FY2022

WSDOT has 111 concrete bridge decks due or past due for rehabilitation

As of June 2022, 67 of WSDOT's bridges (with 1.4 million square feet of deck area) were due for concrete bridge deck rehabilitation. This is a 2.9% decrease from 69 bridges (with 2.1 million square feet) due for rehabilitation in June 2021, and a 34.0% increase from the 50 concrete bridge decks that were due for rehabilitation in June 2018.

In addition, 44 bridges (with 408,571 square feet of deck area) were past due for concrete bridge deck rehabilitation—a 4.8% increase from 42 bridges (with 415,099 square feet of deck area) in June 2021 and a 120.0% increase from 20 bridges in June 2018. These increases are largely attributable to the aging of WSDOT's bridges combined with the comparatively small numbers of concrete bridge decks WSDOT has had the funding to rehabilitate over the last five years.

Rehabilitating due and past due concrete bridge decks requires an ever increasing percentage of WSDOT bridge crew resources, and comes at the expense of structural repairs. As of June 2022, WSDOT had 17 bridges (with 2.4 million square feet of deck area) under contract to have their bridge decks rehabilitated. This is a 616% increase over the two WSDOT-owned bridges (with 331,311 square foot deck area) under contract in June 2021.

FY2021

WSDOT has 111 concrete bridge decks due or past due for rehabilitation

As of June 2021, 69 of WSDOT's bridges (with 2.1 million square feet of deck area) were due for concrete bridge deck rehabilitation. This is a 1.4% increase from 68 bridges (with 2.5 million square feet) due for rehabilitation in June 2020, and a 64.3% increase from the 42 concrete bridge decks that were due for rehabilitation in June 2017. The I-90 Lacey V. Murrow Bridge is counted as one structure but includes two wide, long bridges—2,800 feet long and 65 feet wide, and 2,700 feet long and 74 feet wide—which dramatically affected the total square footage in poor condition.

In addition, 42 bridges (with 415,099 square feet of deck area) were past due for concrete bridge deck rehabilitation—a 13.5% increase from 37 bridges (with 325,060 square feet of deck area) in June 2020 and a 31.3% increase from 32 bridges in June 2017. These increases are largely attributable to the aging of WSDOT's bridges combined with the comparatively small numbers of concrete bridge decks WSDOT has had the funding to rehabilitate over the last five years.

Rehabilitating due and past due concrete bridge decks requires an ever increasing percentage of WSDOT bridge crew resources, and comes at the expense of structural repairs. As of June 2021, two WSDOT-owned bridges (with 331,311 square feet of deck area) were under contract to have their bridge decks rehabilitated.

FY2020

WSDOT has 68 concrete bridge decks due for repair in 2020, an increase of 20% from 56 in 2019

As of June 2020, 68 of WSDOT's bridges (with 2.5 million square feet of deck area) were due for concrete bridge deck repairs. This is a 20% increase from 56 bridges (with 1.6 million square feet) due for repair in June 2019, and a 45% increase from the 47 concrete bridge decks that were due for repair in June 2016.

In addition, 37 bridges (with 325,060 square feet of deck area) were past due for concrete bridge deck repair—an increase of 23% from 30 (with 38 bridges in June 2016. These increases are largely attributable to the aging of WSDOT's bridges combined with the comparatively small numbers of concrete bridge decks WSDOT has had the funding to repair over the last five years.

Repairing due and past due concrete bridge decks requires an ever-increasing percentage of WSDOT bridge crew resources, and comes at the expense of structural repairs. For example, WSDOT bridge maintenance crews performed extensive deck repair to the eastbound left lane on the I-90 Vantage Bridge in the summer and fall of 2020. These repairs provide a temporary fix until the 58-year-old deck can be rehabilitated again. The bridge has an existing concrete overlay that was applied in 1982.

As of June 2020, two WSDOT-owned bridges (with 29,550 square feet of deck area) were under contract to have their bridge decks repaired.

FY2019

WSDOT has 56 concrete bridge decks due for repair and 30 past due

As of June 2019, 56 of WSDOT's bridges (with 1.6 million square feet of deck area) were due for concrete bridge deck repairs, and an additional 30 (with 210,300 square feet of deck area) were past due. WSDOT's bridge crews have the task of keeping these due and past due bridge decks usable. This work requires an ever-increasing percentage of bridge crew resources and comes at the expense of structural repairs.

Eight WSDOT bridges (with 102,900 square feet of deck area) were under contract to have their concrete decks repaired or overlaid as of June 2019. The agency has a total of $55.2 million in funding for concrete bridge deck rehabilitation during the 2019-2021 biennium, which will cover approximately 42% of the $131 million needed to meet current concrete bridge deck needs. Decks with repair needs that go unaddressed in the 2019-2021 biennium will likely contribute to an increase in WSDOT's future estimates of bridge preservation needs.

FY2018

WSDOT estimates concrete bridge deck repair costs at $1 billion over 10 years

WSDOT has 18 bridges under contract to receive deck repairs and overlays, and plans to spend $31.6 million on concrete bridge deck rehabilitation during the 2017-2019 biennium. These planned expenditures will cover 3.0% of the more than $1.0 billion WSDOT expects to need for concrete bridge deck repairs over the next 10 years.

Most WSDOT-owned bridges have reinforced concrete decks. The agency-s comprehensive bridge deck and overlay these decks to prolong their lifespan and avoid expensive deck replacements. Deck repairs and protective overlays extend bridges' service lives by at least 25 years and are more cost-effective than replacing the entire deck; rehabilitating decks with a concrete overlay costs about $80 per square foot, while replacing the deck entirely costs $300 per square foot.