HF 2915

as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/11/2010 08:44am

A bill for an act
relating to bridges; providing for ongoing prioritization of bridge projects;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 165.14, subdivision 4, by adding a
subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 165.14, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Prioritization of bridge projects.

(a) The commissioner shall classify all
bridges in the program into tier 1, 2, or 3 bridges, where tier 1 is the highest tier. Unless
the commissioner identifies a reason for proceeding otherwise, before commencing bridge
projects in a lower tier, all bridge projects within a higher tier must to the extent feasible
be selected and funded in the approved state transportation improvement program, at
any stage in the project development process, solicited for bids, in contract negotiation,
under construction, or completed.

(b) The classification of each tier is as follows:

(1) tier 1 consists of any bridge in the program that (i) has an average daily traffic
count that is above 1,000 and has a sufficiency rating that is at or below 50, or (ii) is
identified by the commissioner as a priority project;

(2) tier 2 consists of any bridge that is not a tier 1 bridge, and (i) is classified as
fracture-critical, or (ii) has a sufficiency rating that is at or below 80; and

(3) tier 3 consists of any other bridge in the program that is not a tier 1 or tier 2 bridge.

(c) By June 30, 2018, all tier 1 and tier 2 bridges originally included in the program
must be under contract for repair or replacement with a new bridge that contains a
load-path-redundant design, except that a specific bridge may remain in continued service
if the reasons are documented in the report required under subdivision 5. new text begin Bridges that
are not originally included in the program and additional bridges identified for contract
after the trunk highway bridge improvement program concludes on June 30, 2018, must
be prioritized according to subdivision 7.
new text end

(d) The commissioner shall establish criteria for determining the priority of bridge
projects within each tier, and must include safety considerations as a criterion.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 165.14, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Prioritization of subsequent trunk highway bridge projects. new text end

new text begin The trunk
highway bridge improvement program described in subdivisions 1 through 6 concludes on
June 30, 2018, and applies to bridge projects identified at the inception of the program.
Additional bridges that did not qualify for the initial trunk highway bridge improvement
program under the tiered classification system that may subsequently need repair or
replacement must be prioritized as follows:
new text end

new text begin (1) the commissioner shall develop a prioritization method for scheduling bridge
repairs and replacements that will include consideration of the risk of service interruption
resulting in temporary road closures or restrictions of existing bridges;
new text end

new text begin (2) the prioritization system must consider factors including but not limited to
bridge condition, age, load capacity, type of bridge, susceptibility to flood damage,
fracture-critical design features, traffic volume, detour length, and functional classification
of highway route;
new text end

new text begin (3) the prioritization system must be utilized in conjunction with department
knowledge of the bridge infrastructure to establish the repair and replacement program; and
new text end

new text begin (4) the commissioner shall establish a risk-based prioritization system no later than
February 1, 2011.
new text end