Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Look Out Below: One in Nine Bridges Structurally Deficient, Reports T4A

false

Transportation for America came out with a new report yesterday on the state of America's bridges [PDF] -- and the news isn't good.

In the country's 102 largest metro areas, one in nine bridges is structurally deficient. That translates into more than 18,000 precarious structures. Americans drive over bridges in need of repair, replacement or maintenance about 210 million times daily, according to the report. In California alone, that translates into 396 people every second. Put another way, each day the volume of travelers who use deficient bridges in the United States far outnumbers the customers served by McDonald's worldwide.

Reconnecting America summarized the findings in a recent post:

"The impact of a failure to attend to our bridges became all too clear in September, 2011, when the governors of Kentucky and Indiana were forced to close the busy Sherman Minton Bridge in metro­politan Louisville after inspectors found cracks in its structural beams. The closure made national headlines as Louisville traffic was snarled and mil­lions of Americans wondered about the condition of the busy bridges they have to cross each day," the report notes. "With the majority of American bridges soon due for major maintenance, overhaul or replacement, scenarios such as this could begin playing out with increasing frequency absent concerted effort and investment."

California leads the nation with the busiest deficient bridges, taking several top spots when ranking metros. The daily volume in Los Angeles was more than double that of second place New York.

"As an increasing number of our bridges reach – and pass – their original design life spans, repairing the nation’s biggest and busiest bridges will require a national strategy that is not possible under a program where money is distributed to states by formula with little accountability," the report notes.

Left to their own devices, many states plow resources into sprawl-inducing road expansions while leaving the maintenance of existing structures untended.

T4A issued these recommendations for policy makers:

    • prohibiting money designated from repairs from being used for other purposes
    • requiring states to develop asset management plans
    • allowing local governments greater flexibility in the use of federal funds, among other things.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Bike Delaware sets out to determine whether cyclists are really more likely to break traffic laws than motorists. Stop and Move reports that, despite recent political attacks, Amtrak California is breaking ridership records. And Radials Blog examines conceptions of race and urbanism in American pop culture, through the prism of the Cosby Show.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

No Accident: Red Hook Pool Closure Saga Stems from Adams Administration ‘Underinvestment’

An Olympic-size pool in Red Hook has sat empty since the summer’s start, leaving residents in the area out to dry and pissed off in blistering, record high heat.

July 25, 2025

The Perfect Beast: Even Google’s AI Thinks Streets Are for Cars

Artificial intelligence is completely naturally addicted to promoting cars.

July 25, 2025

Friday Video: Krakow is a Polish Pedestrian Paradise

Check out how car drivers simply stop for pedestrians — and not just pedestrians in a crosswalk, but also pedestrians about to enter a crosswalk or even just thinking about maybe entering a crosswalk.

July 25, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Putting the ‘Con’ in ConEd Edition

Con Edison has blocked the Vernon Boulevard bike lane for more than a week now. Plus other news.

July 25, 2025

Fixing Canal Street Means Rethinking the Manhattan Bridge Itself: Experts

Canal Street needs a fix, but the city must go straight to the source.

July 24, 2025

Lower East Side Panel Joins Growing Chorus Against Tisch’s E-Bike Criminalization

Another New York neighborhood is calling for an end to the “disproportionate consequences” that e-bike users face under the NYPD’s sweeping crackdown.

July 24, 2025
See all posts