Report Calls 63,000 U.S. Bridges ‘Structurally Deficient’
A new report by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association found that more than 63,000 bridges around the country — about 10% — are “structurally deficient.”
The report’s ranking of states with the most deficient spans had Pennsylvania topping the list with 5,218 bridges, or 23%. Florida, Nevada and Texas ranked at the bottom with 2% of their bridges rated as deficient. Bridges deemed structurally deficient require significant maintenance.
ARTBA emphasized its report highlights the need to repair critical infrastructure, even as the federal Highway Trust Fund is about to run out of money later this summer.
The fund provides states with money for infrastructure projects, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has warned it could start slowing down payments to states as the account dwindles.
Alison Premo Black, the group’s chief economist, told reporters April 24 that Congress “needs to act immediately to get some additional revenues into the Highway Trust Fund to address that issue.”
She also suggested raising the gas tax to boost revenues into the fund. The current national fuel tax is insufficient to keep the fund operable.
For more coverage, see the April 28 edition of Transport Topics.
