State Finds Bridge Inspection Concerns
11/06/2009 --
The State Auditor General released an evaluation Friday on how well the Michigan Department of Transportation follows state and federal regulations on bridge inspections.
The Auditor General's Office found five areas of concern.
The major problem: MDOT did not examine certain critical bridges or did not examine them as frequently as required by law.
That has major implications, and not just for safety because not following the letter of the law means Michigan could loss some federal funding.
"MDOT did not comply with critical safety provisions ? and risked the withholding of federal aid," cited audit the report.
Another concern: MDOT did not inspect the underside of some bridges with false decking.
Last month, Local 4 Defenders revealed that false decking is the plywood installed underneath bridges. False decking does not support the bridge in any way; its sole purpose is to catch crumbling concrete from the structure so it does not hit the cars below.
The Auditor General said MDOT did not correctly identify bridges with false decking in its reports and did not have procedures in place to do so.
For its part, MDOT has agreed to comply with the auditors' recommendations.
To read the full inspection report click the link http://audgen.michigan.gov/
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