The pending replacement of one of the bridges, the East Innes Street bridge in downtown Salisbury, has been a topic of much conversation over the past year.

The other bridge is on Interstate 85 northbound and crosses a small service road (state road 2124) and railroad tracks used by Duke Power. It is the last bridge before the Yadkin River in the northbound lane of I-85.

Bids on the planning stage for the I-85 bridge’s replacement will be taken in 2004.

In its annual survey, AAA Carolinas says more than a third (35 percent) of the bridges in North Carolina are substandard. The report hastens to add that none poses an immediate danger to motorists.

Of the 20 bridges described as the worst in the state, work is planned on 13, including the two in Rowan County. No timetable exists to repair or replace the other seven.

AAA Carolinas, a non-profit organization with a million members in the Carolinas, rates the state’s bridges based on traffic volume, age, width and whether state inspectors have deemed them “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete.”

Structurally deficient means a bridge is in poor physical condition and cannot handle the current traffic. Functionally obsolete means a bridge’s design is inadequate for the present traffic. Both Rowan County bridges are classified as structurally deficient.

Davidson County has four bridges on the Top 20 list. Cumberland, Durham and Wake counties each has three bridges listed among the 20 worst. All of the bridges considered as the worst carry large volumes of traffic.

Salisbury’s East Innes Street bridge, which crosses the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks at Depot Street, carries an average weekly traffic volume of 169,400 vehicles. The northbound I-85 bridge carries 199,150 vehicles a week.

Overall, Randolph County had 95 bridges considered substandard, the most in the state.

The East Innes Street bridge dates back to 1947 and ranks ninth on the AAA’s Top 20 list.

Earlier this year, a state bridge inspector told Salisbury City Council that the bridge was structurally deficient with a 19.6 rating out of a possible 100.

A rating of 50 or lower qualifies a bridge for federal replacement dollars.

Also, the bridge no longer has the vertical clearance for rail cars sought by Norfolk Southern.

The Department of Transportation hopes to begin construction of a replacement bridge by March 2002 or 2003. City officials wrestled with the question of whether to close the bridge to traffic for a year to allow for its replacement or keep two lanes of the four-lane bridge open at all times during its replacement over two years.

City Council decided on the two-year plan. During construction, two lanes carrying the westbound traffic from the direction of I-85 will remain open into the downtown.

Eastbound traffic leaving the downtown will be routed onto South Lee, East Bank and South Long streets.

Council chose the two-year construction plan over five other options, judging that the traffic detours related to a complete closure of the bridge would lead to too much congestion.

East Bank Street residents, whose neighborhood will be used as the major detour route, expressed some displeasure with the plan. Council members, merchants and citizens have all questioned why it will take up to two years to replace the bridge.

The I-85 northbound bridge to be replaced was built in 1955. It ranks as the 16th worst bridge in North Carolina.

With 35 percent of its bridges in need of repair, North Carolina ranks 38th among all states, the AAA said. The national average is 28 percent.

“There is a great need for additional funding to help maintain our bridges and highways,” Transportation Secretary David McCoy said in response to the AAA survey.

“Repairing washed-out roads and bridges due to three hurricanes this year will be our No. 1 priority when we go to the legislature.”

McCoy said about $2 billion is needed for bridge construction projects, with about $1.5 billion likely to be available from taxes and other resources. DOT received an additional $38 million this year for bridges, and McCoy said that extra funding should help the DOTreplace more bridges in the coming year.