Traveling along the bridge at Union Ave and Manor Street, you are not going to notice any problems with your day flying by. But if you look closely, cracks reveal themselves. But most of the problems with this bridge is behind closed fences. Cracked concrete the size of boulders, water eating the way at rusting pipes, all leading to this bridge to fail inspection and to be listed as one of the top ten worst bridges in our area.
Just across the bridge is the bluffs, which is a beautiful recreational site where people hike and enjoy the fresh air. Which brings worry to those who are concerned about crossing over a dangerous street to get there.
Rece, a jogger at the bluffs expressed her concern.
"I feel like its dangerous and they should probably fix these problems that they know that they have issues with so peoples lives aren't in danger. Its dangerous and they need to fix it!"
The new report comes from Alison Black, the Senior Vice President at the American Road and Transportation Builders Association -- using data from the federal government.
"A structurally deficient bridge means that one of the key elements and its usually its either the deck the superstructure above the bridge or the substructure underneath. One of those elements is rated in poor or worse condition so on a scale from 0-9 with nine being excellent with that bridge one of those elements is at 4 or below. The bridge is not necessarily unsafe to the traveling public but it really needs some work."
I also found out the procedures in case the bridge does become unsafe and what the traveling public can do to drive with caution.
"I think the most important thing that people can do is be aware of this issue and be aware that it does impact their daily commute and all of those businesses that are using that network and really talk to the legislatures at the state and federal level and have them deal with this and raise revenue to address the issue."
Officials recommend letting local government agencies know if you have concerns.
Neither Bakersfield public works nor the Kern County Roads Department returned our calls today.
In Bakersfield, Adam Bowles 23ABC.
https://www.facebook.com/AdamBowles23ABC/
