... a new report by Transportation For America, The Fix We’re In For: The State of Our Nation’s Busiest Bridges, ranks U.S. metropolitan areas based on the condition of their bridges. The numbers are alarming – to put it mildly.
Consider a few:
- Nearly 35 million people unwittingly drive over structurally deficient bridges every day in Los Angeles.
- In New York City, 296 people travel across a dangerous bridge every second.
- Roughly one of every three bridges in Pittsburgh, PA is “structurally deficient.”
All told, 69,223 U.S. bridges are classified as “structurally deficient,” according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Many of these bridges have exceeded their 50-year design lifespan. In fact, the average age of an American bridge is 42 years. It will cost an estimated $70.9 billion to address the current backlog of deficient bridges, according to FHWA’s 2009 statistics.
