Texas Bridges Are Falling Down, and TxDOT Won't Say Why

“Structurally deficient” is all TxDOT and Attorney General Greg Abbott want Texans to know about our bridges.

After the August collapse of the I-35 Bridge in Minnesota, transportation officials here in Texas were compelled by Lt Governor David Dewhurst to conduct safety inspections on all Texas bridges. The Texas Department of Transportation released the safety evaluations last month and over 2000 bridges were deemed structurally deficient. However, the list does not include any details of what is wrong with the bridges it just ranks them on a scale of 1 to 100.

The American-Statesman just reported that their request to have access to the inspection files of six deficient bridges in Central Texas was denied. TxDOT rejected the request stating that federal law allows them to withhold that information from the public and Attorney General Greg Abbott supports TxDOT’s decision to keep the records confidential.

According to the American-Statesman report the decision to withhold information was to “promote candid evaluations by inspectors” by keeping the information “out of public hands, and out of the courtroom”. Is TxDOT really choosing to protect their inspectors in court rather than protecting Texas divers on the road? Or is it possible that TxDOT is concerned with protecting themselves by not releasing information that would compel them to spend even more money from an already strained budget?

The concern is not the just for the six bridges in question by the American-Statesman, but it is for the other 1994 “deficient” bridges. Because TxDOT refuses to release any information aside from an arbitrary numerical rank, the people have absolutely no idea what “structurally deficient” entails. Without that knowledge people will not be able to trust whether the bridges are safe enough to drive on. We also cannot know the amount of funds required to repair the faulty bridges.

Federal law may allow TxDOT to withhold this information, but is it the role of a state agency to exercise federal laws to keep information from the public?