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Thousands of Bridges Remain in Disrepair

Posted by: Nate Berg

28 July 2008 - 10:00am

Some states have made progress in repairing old bridges since the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse, but many states still have thousands in disrepair. Billions are needed to get them up-to-date.

"The fatal collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis a year ago jolted states into better inspections of the nation's 600,000 bridges, but they aren't coming up with the billions of dollars needed to ensure that all of them are sound."

"Since the tragedy, Pennsylvania has approved $350 million in bonds to repair 411 bridges. Road tolls will go up next year."

"It would cost $9.4 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies in the USA, according to the latest estimate, made in 2005, by the American Society of Civil Engineers."

"A USA TODAY review found that beefed-up inspections since the collapse led 16 states to close bridges, reduce weight limits or make immediate repairs. All states inspected bridges designed like the one that fell. Some, including Arizona, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee, conducted broader reviews to identify bridges needing the most work."

"South Carolina and Wisconsin are installing high-tech sensors that record the deterioration of a bridge, which inspectors can track on the Internet."

Full Story: Billions needed to shore up nation's bridges
Source: USA Today, July 25, 2008
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