The inspection process is comprehensive and identifies even minor maintenance needs long before they become larger concerns.”

Lori Caron Silveira, the RITBA’s executive director.

What ‘fair condition’ really means

The Mt. Hope Bridge’s overall condition is rated “fair,” but engineers say that doesn’t mean the nearly century-old span is unsafe.

Under the National Bridge Inspection Standards, a bridge rated “fair” remains structurally sound. The designation simply means inspectors have found deterioration such as corrosion, cracking or section loss that requires continued maintenance.

In fact, the inspection report states the Mt. Hope Bridge “continues to function as designed.”

Federal bridge ratings range from 9 (excellent) to 0 (failed). A rating of 5 — “fair” — means primary structural elements remain sound even though deterioration is present. Only when ratings fall into the lower categories do inspectors begin describing conditions as poor, serious or critical.

The bridge’s overall rating actually dropped from satisfactory to fair after a 2021 underwater inspection found deterioration in portions of the substructure. The 2024 inspection found no change in that overall rating.

— Jim McGaw

Mt. Hope Bridge by the numbers

530 — Pages in the inspection report.

96 — Years since the bridge opened.

4,858 — Length of the bridge in feet.

1,200 — Length of the main suspended span.

135 — Feet above mean high water.

28.4% — Federal sufficiency rating.

October-November 2024 — Inspection period.

2 years — Frequency of full inspections.

BRISTOL/PORTSMOUTH — If you’ve ever wondered what nearly a century of salt air, traffic and New England weather look like in engineering terms, the answer fills 530 pages.

The 2024 biennial inspection of the Mt. Hope Bridge catalogs cracked concrete, corroded steel, leaking expansion joints, broken anchor bolts, worn bearings, potholes and dozens of other deficiencies throughout the 96-year-old suspension bridge connecting Portsmouth and Bristol.

It’s an exhaustive inventory of a bridge that has spent nearly a century battling one relentless enemy: time.

Yet despite documenting hundreds of maintenance issues, inspectors reached an encouraging conclusion. The bridge “continues to function as designed,” according to the report prepared for the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) and publicly released Friday, July 10.

The inspection, conducted over a month in the fall of 2024, involved engineers examining virtually every accessible portion of the 4,858-foot bridge, including the roadway, towers, suspension system, catwalks, bearings, piers and approach spans. Using specialized inspection vehicles, lifts and hands-on examinations, they searched for signs of deterioration long before those problems could threaten the bridge’s structural integrity.

That philosophy, officials say, is exactly the point.

RELATED: RITBA executive director and engineer talk in detail about the report.

“The inspection process is comprehensive and identifies even minor maintenance needs long before they become larger concerns,” said Lori Caron Silveira, RITBA’s executive director.

“Every finding is evaluated, prioritized, and either addressed immediately by our maintenance team or incorporated into our capital improvement program. All ‘priority’ items as well as many of the ‘routine’ items have either been addressed or are in design for repair,” she said. “Maintaining the Mt. Hope Bridge is an ongoing task, and we remain committed to investing in its preservation so it continues to serve Rhode Islanders safely for generations to come.”

The report supports that assessment. While inspectors documented deterioration throughout the structure, they concluded the bridge remains in overall fair condition, with its main suspension cables still rated satisfactory.

What worried inspectors most?

The report identifies several items requiring priority attention:

• Broken, missing or loose anchor bolts that secure bearings supporting portions of the bridge.

• Cracks in several steel girders, floor beams, stringers and lateral bracing members.

• Bearings in several locations that have become frozen, limiting the bridge’s ability to expand and contract with changing temperatures.

• Leaking expansion joints that allow water and road salt to reach the steel below, accelerating corrosion.

• Portions of the maintenance catwalk beneath the suspended span that have deteriorated enough to be unsafe for workers and should remain barricaded until repaired.

Most of those issues affect maintenance access or individual bridge components rather than the bridge’s overall structural stability.

Water remains the biggest enemy

One theme appears repeatedly throughout the report: water.

Leaking roadway joints allow rainwater and winter road salt to seep beneath the deck and drip onto the steel framework below, where corrosion gradually eats away at girders, floor beams, stringers, bearings and other structural members.

Inspectors repeatedly recommend repairing those joints to slow deterioration and avoid more costly repairs later.

Elsewhere, engineers documented rust, steel section loss, corrosion holes, cracked bracing, deteriorating concrete, exposed reinforcing steel, potholes and aging repair patches throughout the bridge.

Many of those deficiencies have been documented in previous inspections and are being monitored or repaired as part of RITBA’s ongoing maintenance program.

What wasn’t a major concern?

Some of the bridge’s most recognizable features remain in comparatively good condition.

The report rates the massive main suspension cables and suspender ropes as satisfactory. Inspectors found aging paint, isolated corrosion and broken wire strands that have been monitored for years, but reported no significant changes since the previous inspection.

The towers, anchorages and cable bents also remain in fair to satisfactory condition despite showing their age.

Repairs already underway

The report also serves as a progress report on work completed since the previous biennial inspection in 2022.

Among the repairs already made:

• Damaged bearings repaired.

• Broken anchor bolts replaced in several locations.

• Cracked steel members repaired or stabilized.

• Potholes patched.

• Erosion beneath portions of the bridge repaired.

• Graffiti removed.

• Loose and severely corroded metal components removed.

• New load-posting signs installed.

Inspectors also noted several previously identified cracks had been repaired or arrested before they could spread.

The latest report recommends continuing that work with repairs to deteriorated steel, leaking expansion joints, cracked concrete and corroded bearings while monitoring dozens of other locations for future changes.

For the thousands of motorists who cross Mt. Hope Bay every day, the report offers a reminder that preserving one of Rhode Island’s best-known landmarks isn’t a matter of waiting for something to break.

Instead, it is a continuous cycle of inspections, maintenance and repairs — one that has allowed a bridge opened in 1929 to keep carrying traffic safely for nearly a century.