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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > July > 23 > Entry
Brown versus corroding bridges
Yet another U.S. senator from Ohio is getting riled up about the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Wednesday, July 23, introduced two bills aimed at preventing and addressing bridge corrosion. The bills aren’t expected to go too far this year - it being an election year and all - but Brown said he has high hopes they’ll be a priority in a new presidential administration.
The first bill would require any proposal to the Department of Transportation for bridge construction, modification, or renovation to include a corrosion mitigation and prevention plan.
The second would provide tax credits for corrosion prevention measures including engineering design, materials and application and installation of corrosion prevention and mitigation technology.
Browns’ been interested in the issue since he was in the U.S. House. A study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration in 2001 found that corrosion costs $276 billion per year, including $8.3 billion in costs due to bridge corrosion.
In 2007 dollars, this translates into $442 billion in total corrosion costs and $13.3 billion in bridge corrosion costs. This means annual costs for Ohio of about $15 billion in corrosion costs and $500 million in bridge corrosion costs for 2007.
Private industry has estimated that one-third of corrosion costs could be saved by applying existing corrosion control technology. The utilization of this technology is estimated to cost less than 10 percent of the costs to replace critical infrastructure.
“The money the government will save is much greater than the money it will spend on this,” Brown said.
Last year, the U.S. Senate passed a bill by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, to establish a commission to examine deteriorating roads, bridges, drinking water systems, dams and other public works. That bill passed in the aftermath of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota, but ultimately stalled in the House.
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