Maintenance, repairs and replacements needed for US Bridges

The US is in desperate need of rebuilding many of its road bridges. This comes from an analysis of official data carried out by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). According to ARTBA’s analysis of the US Department of Transportation’s just released 2017 National Bridge Inventory database, 54,259 of the nation’s 612,677 bridges are rated structurally deficient. The work is needed as these transport links are vital, with Americans crossing these deficient bridges 174 million
February 1, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The US is in desperate need of rebuilding many of its road bridges. This comes from an analysis of official data carried out by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). According to ARTBA’s analysis of the US Department of Transportation’s just released 2017 National Bridge Inventory database, 54,259 of the nation’s 612,677 bridges are rated structurally deficient. The work is needed as these transport links are vital, with Americans crossing these deficient bridges 174 million times/day. The average age of a structurally deficient bridge is 67 years, compared to 40 years for non-deficient bridges. The report says that one in three (226,837) US bridges have identified repair needs and more worryingly still, one in three (17,726) Interstate highway bridges have identified repair needs.

The US Interstate Highway System carries 75% of the nation’s heavy truck traffic.  The report finds there is the equivalent of one “structurally deficient”-rated bridge, on average, for every 43km of the major highway network. The 1,800 structurally deficient Interstate bridges are crossed 60 million times daily.

The pace of improving the inventory of structurally deficient bridges slowed this past year.  At the current pace of repair or replacement, it would take 37 years to remedy all of them, according to Dr Alison Premo Black, chief economist for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), who conducted the analysis.

Finance & Funding Road Structures

Related Content

  • 19th century Newhall Road Bridge gets 21st century makeover
    April 10, 2018
    A Sheffield bridge with a history dating back to the 17th century has been strengthened, repaired and restored by Amey. Newhall Road bridge over the River Don is one of 240 road bridges and culverts in Sheffield to be given a new lease of life thanks to investment linked to Sheffield City’s €2.5 billion Streets Ahead highway maintenance contract.
    Read More
  • ARTBA encouraging new highway funding sources
    February 9, 2012
    The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) says that to tackle the funding gap for US highways, a different approach is required.
    Read More
  • Skanska and Kraton boost RAP use with called SYLVAROAD™ RP1000
    November 23, 2017
    The city of Västerås in central Sweden is known as a centre for industrial automation and information technology. Innovation abounds here and with it comes strong environmental efforts – meeting carbon reduction goals and maximising the recycling process, for example. A road construction project just outside this picturesque city highlights such innovation.
    Read More
  • New US toll road regulation criticised
    April 10, 2012
    High road toll increases bring threat of new regulation in US - *Bob Poole reports. Large toll rate increases have been implemented recently by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, justified in part to help pay for its World Trade Center project. In response, a bill was introduced in Congress that would allow the Secretary of Transportation to regulate tolls on every bridge on the country's Interstates and other federally aided highways.
    Read More

Highlighted Content