This year’s Better Roads Bridge Inventory presents a mixed bag of the nation’s crossings.
Bridges rated “fair” continue to make up the highest percentage of the nation’s inventory, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration. It’s been a growing category over the years as many states lose ground on maintaining their bridges, seeing them slip out of good condition. This year, the number of fair bridges rose by 6,130.
On a slightly brighter note, the number of "good" bridges increased by 1,432, reversing last year’s drop in the category.
Though good bridges increased, so did the number of "poor" bridges, up 194 from 2021.
Those changes, however, didn’t move the needle much overall, as the percentages of bridges rated good, fair and poor remained relatively steady for the U.S. in 2022.
Welcome to Equipment World’s 2022 Better Roads Bridge Inventory. What follows are some snapshots from data compiled from FHWA Bridge Condition reports, submitted by departments of transportation for all 50 states and the District of Columbia as of June 15, 2022. We rank the top and bottom states in various categories using that data. At the end of the article, we also provide a detailed look at overall conditions of the bridges in each state, so you can see how your state stacks up.
