Deficient Bridges in the United States
Posted on Fri, Oct 28, 2011 @ 08:25 AM
A new study has shown a large number of deficient bridges in the United States. About 18,000 of the nation’s busiest bridges are rated as structurally deficient, according to Transportation for America. The study ranked 102 urban areas in 3 different population categories: areas with more than 2 million people, areas between 1 and 2 million, and areas between 500,000 and 1 million. According to federal data, about 70,000 bridges nationwide are rated structurally deficient and are in need of substantial repair or replacement.
Of the 3 population classes, Pittsburgh and its surroundings had the worst bridges. About 30% of the area’s bridges are deficient. This is especially troubling because Pittsburgh is in the highest of the 3 classes with around 2.3 million people. Close behind with 27.5% is Tulsa, OK. They represent the smallest population size and the second worst bridges in the nation. The middle population class’s worst area is Oklahoma City, OK at 19.8%.
It’s troubling to have two metropolitan areas in Oklahoma have such poor bridge preservation. “There are more deficient bridges in our metropolitan areas than there are McDonald’s restaurants in the entire country,” says James Corless, director of Transportation for America. Metropolitan-area bridges carry 75 percent of the trips that are made on structurally deficient bridges, Corless says.