Why Baltimore City doesn’t want to pay for a new Baltimore County bridge

The future of an old, rusted bridge skirting the Loch Raven Reservoir and meandering through the Baltimore County woods is caught between city and county officials arguing over who will foot the bill.

For now, city and county government officials say it’s still safe within posted weight limits to drive on the Warren Road bridge, which sits squarely in Baltimore County. And no one doubts the 103-year-old bridge carrying roughly 4,400 cars and trucks every weekday can’t last too much longer.

But where they disagree is who should pay for its replacement — estimated at up to $35 million. The city has even floated the idea of shutting down the bridge altogether.

The two-lane, metal truss bridge takes motorists across a slim channel where the Gunpowder Falls flows into the Loch Raven Reservoir. Despite its county location roughly 10 miles north of the city border, fixing the span falls to city government because of a generations-old agreement between the localities concerning the reservoir.

And, as Baltimore struggles to repair its own infrastructure, replacing the Warren Road bridge hasn’t been a priority even as county government pushes it to act.

Matthew Garbark, director of Baltimore’s Department of Public Works, wrote last month to his county counterpart that the city could “begin working to close and decommission the bridge” if the county were not willing to take over. That was a surprise to county officials.

Historically, the city and county have jointly funded upgrades and replacements for bridges in the Loch Raven watershed, Garbark wrote, using federal dollars when possible. Today, however, the city is struggling to repair its own roads and bridges without the kind of state support the county enjoys.

“The City believes that it would not be in the best interest of its residents for its limited Federal funding to be used to fund construction of a new bridge that neither serves City residents nor operationally benefits the City-owned water system,” Garbark wrote.

State Del. Michele Guyton, a Democrat who represents the northern county area, has been pushing the city to commit to a fix of the bridge for the past three years. In all of the negotiations, she said, the city never relinquished its responsibility to do so — until now.

“It’s not an option to just decommission the bridge because the city doesn’t want to take care of it,” she said. “The city code says the city is responsible and that they cannot decommission the bridge.”

Guyton said the county initially offered to contribute 10% of the costs toward the bridge.

City government has completed a design for the replacement. However, it did not use federal funds to do so, and pursuing federal construction dollars would mean revisiting the design to ensure it meets federal standards.

Lauren Buckler, director of the county’s Department of Public Works and Transportation, said she believed the current design could be used with some tweaks and additional paperwork.

“We understand that there’s a lot of funding constraints,” Buckler said. She added that the county has worked with city officials “to let them know what options there are and how to pursue those options to make sure we can optimize the funding for this bridge.”

Buckler also indicated the county is open to taking ownership. But it’s bigger than just one bridge, she added.

An agreement signed by the two localities in 1913 — during the creation of the Loch Raven Reservoir — vested ownership of the water source with the city, where the majority of the water system’s users resided. And, as bridges cropped up over it, those became city property, too.

About 75 years ago, Buckler said, roughly 80% of regional water system users were city residents. Today, it’s less than 50%, she added. Baltimore County, once a sleepy rural area, is now the third largest in the state, with more than 850,000 residents.

Buckler said there are high-level discussions among city, state and county officials about the water system as a whole and “how decisions are made for that system.” Guyton said she is also aware of such discussions.

Both localities indicated in public statements that they are working collaboratively to come up with a solution.

A spokesperson for Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier insists the bridge is safe to use by vehicles if they meet the posted weight limits. Yet Baltimore County Public Schools recently barred buses from driving over it, sparking concerns with nearby residents about the bridge’s safety. A school system spokesperson confirmed the rerouting but couldn’t answer how many students might be affected.

U.S. Department of Transportation records indicate it’s rated in poor condition. Such a rating, however, does not mean it’s unsafe. Across the state, 240 structures — 4% of Maryland’s total — have such a rating, according to TRIP, a national transportation research organization.