Location: 100 E Benton, Pocatello, ID 83201

Benton Overpass Deficient

MSNBC has some nice data about the thousands of obsolete and structurally deficient bridges in the country, but of special interest to those of us 100% local to southeast idaho is

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...

One thing they don't do a very good job of is letting us know what those numbers mean, exactly... but the 49.1 rating for the Benton overpass doesn't look very good... considering the bridge on 35W in Minneapolis that collapsed was rated at 50 (http://www.startribune.com/... , http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...

according to msbnc:

A structurally deficient bridge is closed or restricted to light vehicles because of its deteriorated structural components. While not necessarily unsafe, these bridges must have limits for speed and weight.

does anyone know if there's a posted weight limit on the benton bridge? I dont' remember seeing one...

UPDATE: according to the Journal http://journalnet.com/artic...
the bridges are safe, but the article doesn't mention anything specific about benton's 49.1 rating, tho it does say

Because the local bridge ratings by the Department of Transportation are under 80, the city qualifies for federal repair money, Turner said. And if ratings ever dropped below 50, it would qualify for bridge replacement money. After the tragedy in Minnesota that has reportedly claimed five or more lives, the city engineer believes bridge inspection will be looked at more seriously around the nation.