Substantial investments from the province are needed to prevent the deterioration of thousands of Alberta’s bridges, according to a report from the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA).
Analysts from RMA examined the condition of bridges and culverts managed by rural municipalities and estimated an infrastructure deficit of $2.29 billion.
This deficit represents the funds required to bring existing infrastructure to an optimal level, minimizing failure risk and ensuring efficient maintenance costs.
If bridge infrastructure is allowed to deteriorate, repair costs will become “extremely expensive,” putting “incredible pressure on municipalities to reallocate revenue from other areas,” the report states.
Wyatt Skovron, RMA’s general manager of policy and advocacy, emphasized that investing now will yield significant cost savings and risk reduction in the long term.
The report’s target condition level is about 94% of new condition.
Of the 8,334 bridges and culverts surveyed, more than half had a condition rating of less than 50%, with only 23 assets rated at 100%. Rural municipalities manage about three-quarters of Alberta’s bridges and spend more of their budgets on transportation than urban centers.
Decades of underfunding have led to weight restrictions and discussions about closing lesser-used roads and bridges.
Skovron highlighted that roads and bridges are crucial for supporting Alberta’s economy and are integral to national and international supply chains.
Since the 1990s, when local bridge management was transferred to municipalities, funding levels have fluctuated.
The Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) was zero-funded in 2013 but has since been reinstated, though funding for rural bridges remains insufficient.
The STIP budget is set at $435 million this year, decreasing to $326 million by 2025.
The deficit summary report on bridges is the first phase of a larger project assessing transportation and utility assets in rural Alberta.
Future reports will include detailed recommendations, with RMA advocating for increased provincial funding and collaboration with municipalities to enhance asset management capacity.
Keith Hopper, Trending 55
