I subscribe to a newsletter called Data Is Plural because I really like the name and also because it’s interesting. DIP is just a periodic heads-up on various data sets that you can fiddle with, if you’re so inclined. Today’s installment included some interesting stuff about the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory, which, if you’re on deadline and really looking for a way to waste time when you absolutely should not be wasting time, is a great way to waste time.
We all know about I-345. It’s in bad shape. We’re going to tear it down. But I started poking around on the bridge reports out of Dallas County and was curious to see that the Houston Viaduct is in lousy shape. Here’s the inspection report from September 2016:
Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 24.5 (out of 100)
Recommended work: Replacement of bridge or other structure because of substandard load carrying capacity or substantial bridge roadway geometry.
You can check out some of the bridge’s history and more data on it here and here.
