Were NJ Bridges Inspected After 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake?

NEW JERSEY — The 4.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Garden State earlier this month caused dozens of aftershocks, water main breaks in Randolph Township, unstable and “leaning” homes in Newark and even partial facade crumbling to a 264-year-old mill in Readington that fed George Washington’s troops.

But how quickly were bridges in the state inspected in the aftermath?

The New Jersey Department of Transportation's in-house inspection teams were sent into the field “immediately” to inspect NJDOT’s bridges near the earthquake epicenter in Hunterdon County following the April 5 quake, NJDOT press manager Steve Schapiro told Patch.

The teams were instructed to inspect all the bridges along interstate and state highways, working systematically outward from the epicenter.

Operations staff inspected state bridges and the Movable Bridge Engineering Group inspected NJDOT’s movable bridges, Schapiro said. The NJDOT was also in touch with other transportation agencies and local bridge owners and advised them to perform inspections on their bridges and to inform the agency of any findings.

“These inspections found no observable damage to NJDOT bridges and there were no damage reports from other agencies or local bridge owners,” Schapiro said. “NJDOT designs bridges to prevent collapse under major earthquakes and most importantly to assure life safety.”

Inspection criteria focused on the “most critical bridge elements that can be impacted due to lateral ground movement,” including columns, rocker bearings, anchor bolts, bridge seats, curved girders, long spans, and more, Schapiro said.

According to a 2023 federal Transportation Department report that broke down the condition of 6,820 bridges in New Jersey, 1,766 were listed in good condition, 4,612 in fair condition and 442 in poor condition.

Overall, more than 42,400 of the nation’s roughly 621,500 bridges are rated in poor condition. Of those, about 4,450 of nearly 147,000 bridges in the federal highway system are rated as poor.

Another report using federal data and released by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association found New Jersey has access to $492.2 million in bridge repair funds, and has committed $141.5 million towards 21 projects as of last June. In total, the state has identified needed repairs on 2,541 bridges, up from 2,357 identified in 2019.

However, the number of structurally deficient bridges has decreased over the last five years, with 529 structurally deficient bridges down to 442 in 2023.

New Jersey ranks 31st in the U.S., compared to 27th in 2022, in structurally deficient bridges in that report. West Virginia took the top spot in that ranking, with 20 percent of its bridges deemed structurally deficient.