Nearly one in four bridges in the country have been found to be deficient, with about 14% categorized as functionally outdated, according to a recent study by the Government Accountability Office.
Relying on 2014 data from the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory, the government watchdog also determined that 4% of bridges in the National Highway System are structurally deficient, and 17% of bridges in that system are functionally obsolete. There are more than 610,000 bridges in FHWA’s inventory.
GAO noted the number of deficient bridges decreased during the past 10 years, while improvements to deficient bridges differed among states. For instance, while 43 states and Washington, D.C., reduced the number of deficient bridges, seven states and Puerto Rico saw the number of their deficient bridges increase. Also, between 2005 and 2014, the country added more than 15,000 bridges.
Although they are not unsafe, bridges deemed structurally deficient are either deteriorating or severely damaged. Functionally obsolete bridges no longer meet current standards.
“Bridge safety remains a high-priority issue for the nation’s transportation system,” according to GAO.
FHWA estimates the country would need an investment of more than $20 billion a year to eliminate a bridge deficiency backlog by 2028.
