MAYOR'S MESSAGE

Craig A. Stough 8/22/2007

"Sylvania Bridge Report"

Recent national news have brought the condition of bridges into the public eye. Although Sylvania has nothing to compare with the span or traffic load of the tragically collapsed Minnesota bridge, I thought you might be interested in the condition of our local Sylvania bridges.

The City of Sylvania maintains fourteen bridges – 12 vehicular, 1 pedestrian and the bridge deck only of the Monroe Street bridge over US 23. The Monroe Street bridge is owned by ODOT, and Sylvania is responsible for maintaining only the upper portion of the deck.

All fourteen of these bridges are inspected annually by the Office of the Lucas County Engineer, which employees a bridge engineer specifically for that purpose. The City pays an inspection fee for these annual inspections, which have been made for many years.

The bridges are rated on an ODOT scale of "0" – failed condition to "9" – as built condition. Sylvania's bridges received one "4", two "5's", five "6's", four "7's", one "8", and one "9".

Sylvania has replaced two bridges in the last two years as a result of these annual bridge inspections finding deterioration of the bridge structures. The Bonniebrook bridge was replaced last year after the Fall, 2005 inspection found unanticipated structural deterioration, and the new bridge is now rated "9". The Main Street bridge is being replaced for the same reason this year.

The next bridge needing reconstruction is the Erie Street bridge over Schreiber Ditch between Highland Elementary and Little Road. The bridge is actually concrete culvert pipes which are beginning to show deterioration and last fall received a rating of "4", but are not currently a concern for failure. This replacement has been added to City's capital improvement budget for engineering and replacement in the next few years.

The other City bridges and their inspection ratings are: Silica Drive over Ten Mile Creek – "5", the adjacent pedestrian bridge over Ten Mile Creek – "7", Harroun Road over Ten Mile Creek – "7", Erie Street over McPeek Drain – 8", Monroe Street over North Ten Mile Creek – "6", Hedingham Road over Rice Ditch – "6", Old Farm Lane over Schreiber Ditch – "6", Apple Meadow Drive over Schreiber Ditch – "7", Kevin Lane over Schreiber Ditch – "7", and Old Post Road over Ten Mile Creek – "6".

Bridge replacements are inconvenient and expensive, but necessary for safety. When needed, the City of Sylvania will complete them as efficiently and economically as possible. This summer's replacement of the Main Street bridge is on schedule and approaching the halfway point when traffic will be routed onto the new east half of the bridge while the remaining west half is replaced.