Not so long ago, the biggest problem facing the George C. Platt Bridge was lights — or more accurately, a lack of them.
Motorists have not had illumination on the span for decades, and earlier this year, authorities learned the federally mandated aviation hazard lights had burned out.
The aviation lights atop the 53-year-old bridge linking South and Southwest Philly have since been replaced, although the rest of the structure remains in the dark.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation owns the Platt Bridge, but according to Gene Blaum, assistant press secretary for the agency, the City of Philadelphia maintains it.
Other concerns came to light in a recent Daily News article about a federal safety report. The Federal Highway Administration’s latest appraisal deemed the bridge "functionally obsolete," the story reported.
But things are not always as they seem, at least according to Penn-DOT.
Blaum said the federal terminology and criteria used to describe bridges and their components as compared to present-day bridge-design standards can be somewhat misleading.
In addition, terms such as "functionally obsolete" are open to a whole host of interpretation, he said.
"’Functionally obsolete’ may just mean the width may not be up to today’s construction standards. But that does not mean the bridge is not safe," Blaum said.
He added that many bridges in Pennsylvania fall under the category of "functionally obsolete" because of width and related requirements, yet they post no hazard to motorists.
As for the Platt Bridge, Blaum explained that its 48-foot width does not meet current design standards.
"Today’s design criteria deems that functionally obsolete. If the bridge were being designed today, it would be built wider than 48 feet," he said. "But that does not mean the bridge is not safe, that it is not doing exactly what it is supposed to do by transporting vehicles in and out of Philadelphia."
Chuck Davies, Penn-DOT’s regional bridge engineer, gave another example of how a bridge could be considered functionally obsolete.
"A slight curve on the roadway leading up to a bridge may also deem a bridge obsolete by today’s design criteria," he said.
The federal government requires state transportation departments to perform inspections and compile reports on bridges on all public roads at least once every two years, said Blaum.
State inspectors did their duty, compiled a report on the Platt Bridge and sent it to the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, D.C.
Inspectors total the individual ratings for a bridge on categories pertaining to safety, daily traffic patterns and structural conditions. They then compute an overall "sufficiency rating."
Jim Pinkelman, media spokesperson for the federal agency, was unavailable for comment on the report or its ramifications. Attempts to obtain a copy of the appraisal from the Federal Highway Administration — which is supposed to be used as the basis of the state report — were unsuccessful.
Asked outright if the George C. Platt Bridge is safe, both PennDOT officials concurred.
"Absolutely, it’s a safe bridge, no doubt," said Davies.
"If it wasn’t, it would be closed," Blaum insisted. "We’ve been very aggressive about postings and closings over the years.
"We just closed a bridge last month in Bucks County," he added, referring to the Geigel Hill Road Bridge in Tinicum Township.
Davies and Blaum told the Review that the Platt Bridge is about to undergo its third rehabilitation project in 20 years.
In the mid-’80s, PennDOT sunk a lot of money into rehabbing the span, said Blaum. Then, in the early to mid-’90s, the structural steel was painted.
Recently, a PennDOT project-management unit scoped the bridge to get an idea of what the rehab work should encompass, noted Davies.
The agency is in the process of advertising for a consultant to handle the design work, Blaum said. PennDOT hopes to have the consultant on board by January.
The design phase will last for about two years, and address issues like paint, condition of deck surface and structural-steel repair to fix rust, Davies said.
The rehab project will not address the issue of lane width. The bridge’s original construction design does not allow for the possibility of widening, the engineer said.
Built in 1949, the 1.7-mile bridge is a main thoroughfare and a link between I-95 near the airport, the Schuylkill Expressway and other routes to Delaware County. Blaum said 48,450 vehicles a day use the bridge, which is less than 2 miles northeast of Philadelphia International Airport.
