Despite that the nation’s transportation funding system is in great peril as the expiration of the current surface transportation funding bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), is set to expire on September 30, 2014, many state agencies expect to be able to lower their number of functionally obsolete (FO) and structurally deficient (SD) bridges.
In the Better Roads 2013 Bridge Inventory, a proprietary survey conducted annually of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the survey found that 21.5 percent (131,200) of the nation’s 609,438 bridges are either structurally deficient (SD) or functionally obsolete (FO).
On a state level, 19.4 percent (58,106) of the 300,260 total state/interstate bridges are SD/FO. At the city/county/township level, 23.6 percent (73,094) of the overall 309,178 total state/interstate bridges are SD/FO.
During the past five years, the number of combined overall SD/FO bridges has decreased from 23.7 percent slightly each year from the current 21.5 percent of overall SD/FO bridges. The percentage of overall combined SD/FO interstate and state bridges has also slightly decreased during the past five years from 21.6 percent in 2009, 21 percent in 2010, 20.3 percent in 2011, and 20.1 percent in 2010 to the current 19.4 percent.
The same is true of the overall city/county/township bridge. In 2009, 25.7 percent of these bridges were combined SD/FO. In 2010, it was 25.4 percent, 25 percent in 2011, 24.8 percent in 2012, and the current 23.6 percent in 2013.
Here’s the list of best and worst bridges by state in both number of bridges and percentage.
States with the Five Worst Overall Combined SD/FO Bridges, by Percentage:
|
State |
Total Interstate & State Bridges |
Total *SD/FO |
% |
Total City/ County/ Township Bridges |
Total *SD/FO |
% |
Total All Bridges |
Combined Total *SD/FO |
% |
|
District of Columbia |
205 |
117 |
57% |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
205 |
117 |
57% |
|
Rhode Island |
619 |
311 |
50% |
147 |
76 |
52% |
766 |
387 |
51% |
|
New York |
8,339 |
3,453 |
41% |
9,053 |
3,299 |
36% |
17,392 |
6,752 |
39% |
|
Pennsylvania |
16,135 |
5,530 |
34% |
6,458 |
3,222 |
50% |
22,593 |
8,752 |
39% |
|
Massachusetts |
3,577 |
1,369 |
38% |
1,572 |
593 |
38% |
5,149 |
1,962 |
38% |
.
States with the Least Overall Combined SD/FO Bridges, by Percentage:
|
State |
Total Interstate & State Bridges |
Total *SD/FO |
% |
Total City/ County/ Township Bridges |
Total *SD/FO |
% |
Total All Bridges |
Combined Total *SD/FO |
% |
|
Wyoming |
1,955 |
110 |
6% |
846 |
258 |
30% |
2,801 |
368 |
13% |
|
Arizona |
4,832 |
501 |
10% |
2,737 |
334 |
12% |
7,569 |
835 |
11% |
|
Utah |
1,887 |
189 |
10% |
1,030 |
142 |
14% |
2,917 |
331 |
11% |
|
Nevada |
1,077 |
161 |
15% |
725 |
40 |
6% |
1,802 |
201 |
11% |
|
California** |
12,735 |
383 |
3% |
12,802 |
1,216 |
9% |
25,537 |
1,599 |
6% |
**Note: California did not report functionally obsolete bridges.
.
Top Five States with the Highest Overall Number of Combined SD/FO Bridges:
|
State |
Total Interstate & State Bridges |
Total *SD/FO |
% |
Total City/ County/ Township Bridges |
Total *SD/FO |
% |
Total All Bridges |
Combined Total *SD/FO |
% |
|
Pennsylvania |
16,135 |
5,530 |
34% |
6,458 |
3,222 |
50% |
22,593 |
8,752 |
39% |
|
Texas |
34,521 |
3,683 |
11% |
18,015 |
4,999 |
28% |
52,536 |
8,682 |
17% |
|
New York |
8,339 |
3,453 |
41% |
9,053 |
3,299 |
36% |
17,392 |
6,752 |
39% |
|
Ohio |
11,510 |
2,371 |
21% |
18,185 |
3,994 |
22% |
29,695 |
6,365 |
21% |
|
Iowa |
4,119 |
374 |
9% |
20,242 |
5,729 |
28% |
24,361 |
6,103 |
25% |
.
Be sure to also read about what causes the most damage to bridges. For more information about U.S. bridges, visit BetterBridges.com.
To view previous Bridge Inventories, check out the links below.
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