For Road Warrior, a bridge too far

(Wikipedia)

Editor's note: A concerned reader again finds numerous flaws in a Road Warrior column, this one about the Route 46 bridge over the Hackensack River, connecting Ridgefield Park and Little Ferry, that was opened in 1934.

Once again, the Road Warrior mistakenly reports misleading and incomplete information and then further confuses or misleads readers by misinterpreting and misstating the facts.

His Nov. 25 column is the 18^th problem article since his 9/12 column that I have brought to the attention of The Record's management & Staff Writer John Cichowski without indication of any preventive actions to address these problems and very few published corrections.

Highlights of misleading and incomplete facts and statements from his column are noted below. The Record or Road Warrior should make appropriate corrections.

1. Misleading incomplete fact - "The Hackensack River span [bridge by the Little Ferry Circle] — under state control as part of U.S. 46 — is considered functionally obsolete"

CORRECT FACT - That Hackensack River span is considered structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.  US DOT national bridge inventory classifies this bridge as structurally deficient. A NJ DOT bridge rehabilitation project, which is extensively reported in this column, was approved to primarily rectify the problems that cause the bridge to be classified as structurally deficient, as well as correct some functionally obsolete problems.  One of the reasons the bridge will still be functionally obsolete, even after the rehabilitation project, is that it will still not have any road shoulders.

2. Misleading statement - "The Hackensack River span ... is considered functionally obsolete, which means cars and some trucks can use it safely"

CORRECT FACTS - Functionally obsolete does NOT automatically mean cars and some trucks can use it safely. 

Functionally obsolete means a bridge has older design features and configurations, and though not unsafe, cannot accommodate current traffic, larger vehicle sizes, or heavier weights in accordance with current improved safety design standards.  It can lead to more traffic congestion or accidents, such as the fatal accident of Gloria Popp that the Road Warrior has regularly recounted over the years, including in this column.

Structurally deficient means a bridge may be closed or have traffic restricted in accordance with weight limits and/or speed limits because of its more limited structural capacity in comparison to its original design capacity.

Functionally obsolete or structurally deficient bridges may still allow cars and some trucks, depending on size and weight, to use the bridge if drivers and pedestrians, if allowed, use it in a more cautious safe manner.

3. Misleading and contradictory Road Warrior forecasts - "Last year, your column told us to sit tight because the state would soon do the work [on the Route 46 bridge]," said the Dumont reader who was 13 [43 years ago] when his big sister was run down by a driver. "I told my family and friends, but still no work has been done."

"But in an economy move last year, the agency decided to combine the bridge work with a reconfiguration of the Little Ferry Circle."

PROBLEMS WITH READERS RELYING ON ROAD WARRIOR FORECASTS -   While the Road Warrior was forecasting last year the state would start bridge work soon, he did not report last year that the DOT agency had decided to combine that work with reconfiguration of the Little Ferry circle, which meant the work would be delayed. 

The Road Warrior also did not report in his current column on any current project estimate for when the contracts for the bridge work and Little Ferry circle reconfiguration might be awarded or work started.  Instead, he provided no real answer based on a DOT spokesman.  Perhaps, the Dumont man and other readers will have to wonder again for another year.  Perhaps, the Road Warrior will follow up with the project manager for this work rather than a bureaucratic DOT spokesman for more accurate and timely forecasts.

Readers want accurate reporting, forecasts, and reviews with timely updates and corrections.  I'm in agreement with that Dumont reader, who said, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Here's hoping for change and better fact-checking, corrections and reviewing (Googling?) by The Record's editors, columnists, & reporters -- for more reliable, accurate, and common sense information.