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To protect the public’s safety, the federal government mandates national bridge inspections for all bridges on a periodic basis. Most of the country’s bridges were designed for a service life of approximately 50 years, so as time passes, an ever-increasing number of bridges will need major rehabilitation or replacement. Structurally deficient bridges specifically are nearly 69 years old on average. Notably, 12% of highway bridges are aged 80 years or older. Less encouraging is that 42% of the nation’s 617,084 highway bridges are over 50 years old, an increase from 39% in 2016.
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For example, in 2019, the percentage of structurally deficient bridges ranged from 1% in Nevada to 22% in Rhode Island. While recent improvements show a positive trend in addressing our poorest bridges, progress is not universal because states face different challenges when maintaining, repairing, and replacing bridges. However, bridges categorized as fair are a concern and an opportunity, as they are potentially one inspection away from being downgraded in classification, but they can also be preserved at a fraction of the cost required to address a structurally deficient bridge. The rate of deterioration is exceeding the rate of repair, rehabilitation, and replacement, all while the number of bridges sliding into the “fair” category is growing. At the current rate of improvement, it is estimated to take more than 50 years, stretching to the year 2071, to repair all of these bridges. Though higher traffic volume bridges tend to receive more attention and are therefore less likely to be structurally deficient, on average 178 million trips occur over structurally deficient bridges every day. Unfortunately, the annual rate of reduction of structurally deficient bridges for the past two years has slowed considerably to just 0.1% annually, while the number of bridges that are slipping from good to fair condition is increasing annually. Also encouraging is that the total percentage of bridge deck area that is classified as structurally deficient, or poor, has decreased over the past several years, totaling just 5.5% in 2019, compared to 6.3% in 2016.Įven with this renewed focus, nearly 231,000 bridges, in all 50 states, still need repair and preservation work.
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While structurally deficient bridges are not inherently unsafe, they require substantial investment in the form of replacement or significant rehabilitation, and they present a higher risk for future closure or weight restrictions.Įncouragingly, as of 2019, just one in 13, or 7.5% of highway bridges were designated structurally deficient, or poor, representing a significant improvement from 12.1% recorded a decade ago. Over the past decade, a concerted effort has been made involving all levels of government to reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges across the nation. The nation needs a systematic program for bridge preservation like that embraced by many states, whereby existing deterioration is prioritized and the focus is on preventive maintenance. At the current rate of investment, it will take until 2071 to make all of the repairs that are currently necessary, and the additional deterioration over the next 50 years will become overwhelming. We need to increase spending on bridge rehabilitation from $14.4 billion annually to $22.7 billion annually, or by 58%, if we are to improve the condition. A recent estimate for the nation’s backlog of bridge repair needs is $125 billion. In recent years, though, as the average age of America’s bridges increases to 44 years, the number of structurally deficient bridges has continued to decline however, the rate of improvements has slowed. Unfortunately, 178 million trips are taken across these structurally deficient bridges every day. Currently, 42% of all bridges are at least 50 years old, and 46,154, or 7.5% of the nation’s bridges, are considered structurally deficient, meaning they are in “poor” condition. There are more than 617,000 bridges across the United States.