Governor:

Restore Bridge Safety Inspections

HARTFORD (AP) — Governor M. Jodi Rell has directed the state Department of Transportation to restore its scaled back bridge safety inspection program.

Rell’s directive, issued Tuesday, came after criticism from some state lawmakers after hearing that the DOT, in a cost-saving move, opted to inspect smaller bridges every four years, rather than every two.

The governor said this is not the time to cut back on safety.

“We all share an understandable concern about bridge safety, given not only the historic tragedy of the Mianus River bridge collapse, but the overall age of the highway network in our state and the volume it carries,” Rell said.

Federal standards require states to inspect their bridges every two years, but the DOT received an exemption for certain bridges based on factors including size and condition, according to the Federal Highway Administration.