Consider the length of a drive from New York City to Miami. That’s how far the deck surface of the nation’s structurally deficient bridges would extend if placed end-to-end, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). That’s 1,340 miles of bridges that are in need of repair!
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According to ARTBA’s annual 2015 state bridge data review, there are more than 58,500 bridges across the country categorized as structurally deficient. And although the nationwide figure has declined by more than 2,500 since last year, estimates are that it would still take more than 20 years to repair or upgrade those bridges at the current rate of investment in American transportation infrastructure.
ARTBA reports that there are approximately 204 million crossings on the nearly 60,000 structurally deficient bridges in the U.S. every day.
Structurally deficient does not mean there is any imminent danger associated with the condition of the bridge. State transportation officials are responsible for regular inspection of bridges to determine their condition and their repair or maintenance needs. With bridges rated on a scale of zero to 9 with “9” being “excellent,” any bridge that earns a “4” or lower is classified as structurally deficient.
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory for 2015, approximately 9.5 percent of the 612,000 bridges in the United States are classified as structurally deficient. Iowa ranked number one with 5,025, or 20.7 percent, of its 24,242 bridges in that category. Rhode Island had the most structurally deficient bridges as a percentage of its inventory at 23.2 percent. Pennsylvania held down the number two spot in both categories with 21.1 percent of its 22,783 bridges – a total of 4.783 bridges – in the structurally deficient category. Neither state has seen much improvement in either category, having ranked either number one or two among the states since 2013.
Since 2013, Nevada has ranked as the state with the fewest number and lowest percentage of structurally deficient bridges relative to its total number of bridges. Figures for 2015 show that Nevada has only 35 such bridges in its inventory of 1,919. That’s an enviable 1.8 percent.
Texas, too, has fared better than many other states regarding the condition of its bridges. Fewer than 6 percent are deemed structurally deficient. That puts Texas ranking 23rd among the states for 2015. The Lone Star State has also ranked high among the states with the fewest number of structurally deficient bridges as a percent of its inventory at slightly less than 2 percent.
The top 28 of the most traveled of these bridges are located in California. Nearly 8 percent of that state’s 25,318 bridges – or 2,009 of them – are rated structurally deficient. That puts California ranking 10th among the states for the highest number of these bridges. That ranking has steadily improved over the last three years – from 5th in 2003 to 6th in 2004 and to the current 10th place in 2015
While the number of these bridges in need of repair has decreased by more than 2,500 over the previous year, spending on transportation infrastructure in the United States has been woefully small relative to needs. That is illustrated by the fact that nearly 85 percent of the nation’s structurally deficient bridges identified in 2015 were built before 1970. A significant financial investment from public entities, or through partnerships with the private sector, will be necessary to repair, upgrade or replace these bridges to extend their lifespans and ensure the safety of the motoring public