Los Angeles (August 3, 2007) – Of the 596,980 highway bridges in the current National Bridge Inventory, 147,913-24.52 percent-were reported deficient in 2005, according to the Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Performance Report, which was released in June. The Reason Foundation study finds at the current rate of repair it will take 50 years to fix today’s deficient bridges.
Nevada has the lowest percentage of deficient bridges, 3.89 percent. Minnesota, where this week’s tragic bridge collapse occurred, ranked 5th in the nation, with 13 percent of its bridges deemed deficient. Rhode Island’s bridges are in the worst shape – with over half, 53.01 percent, of the state’s bridges qualifying as deficient. In all there are 36 states where at least 20 percent of the bridges are deficient – and 48 states where at least 10 percent of bridges are deficient.
“We’re falling further and further behind,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation studies at Reason Foundation and an adviser to the Federal Highway Administration. “We’re prospering as a nation, driving more as commuters and shipping more goods, and that’s pounding the highways and wearing them out.”
Deficient Bridges (Percent of Bridges Deficient in 2005)
1. Nevada (3.89%)
2. Arizona (5.50)
3. Wyoming (12.37)
4. Colorado (12.96)
5. Minnesota (13.16)
6. Wisconsin (15.93)
7. Delaware (16.55)
8. Utah (17.55)
9. Illinois (17.56)
10. California (17.59)
11. Florida (18.33)
12. New Mexico (18.43)
13. Idaho (18.91)
14. Tennessee (19.26)
15. Georgia (20.35)
16. Texas (20.56)
17. Kansas (21.05)
18. Montana (21.20)
19. Indiana (21.83)
20. Arkansas (22.24)
21. Virginia (22.46)
22. Alaska (22.84)
23. Ohio (23.61)
24. South Carolina (23.63)
25. North Dakota (24.24)
26. Nebraska (24.55)
27. Washington (24.55)
28. Alabama (24.94)
29. Oregon (25.34)
30. South Dakota (25.62)
31. Mississippi (26.42)
32. Maryland (26.93)
33. Iowa (27.06)
34. Michigan (27.60)
35. New Jersey (27.91)
36. Maine (29.87)
37. New Hampshire (30.54)
38. Louisiana (30.67)
39. North Carolina (30.91)
40. Kentucky (31.45)
41. Missouri (31.47)
42. Oklahoma (33.04)
43. Connecticut (34.18)
44. Vermont (34.80)
45. Massachusetts (36.38)
46. Hawaii (36.85)
47. New York (37.08)
48. West Virginia (37.10)
49. Pennsylvania (39.00)
50. Rhode Island (53.01)
Federal law mandates the uniform inspection of all bridges for structural and functional adequacy at least every two years; bridges rated ‘deficient’ are eligible for federal repair dollars.
Full Report Online
The full 16th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems, with detailed information for each state, is available online at www.reason.org/ps360. The study measures the performance of state-owned roads and highways from 1984 to 2005 in 12 different categories, including traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, bridge condition, highway maintenance and administrative costs, to determine each state’s ranking and cost-effectiveness.
Reason’s 2006 study showing how congested each city in the country will be in 2030 and how many new lane miles are needed to eliminate congestion is online at www.reason.org/ps346.
Reason Foundation’s extensive archive of transportation research and commentary is here: www.reason.org/transportation.
About Reason
Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing free minds and free markets. Reason produces respected public policy research on a variety of issues and publishes the critically acclaimed monthly magazine, Reason. For more information, please visit www.reason.org.
Contacts
Chris Mitchell, Director of Communications, Reason Foundation, (310) 367-6109