Bluegrass Times

A total of 1,016 out of the 14,368 bridges in Kentucky – or 7.1 percent – were designated in poor shape in an analysis examining bridge conditions in the 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

More than 47,000 bridges in the United States, out of a total of 616,087, were rated structurally deficient in a study released by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). If the deficient bridges were placed end to end, they would extend more than 1,000 miles, the report says.

Kentucky had the 27th highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges nationwide, the ARTBA study found.  

Based on the number of its bridges in poor condition, Kentucky ranks 18th highest in the nation.

The bridges identified are not considered imminently unsafe, according to the analysis, but they do need attention. The number of people crossing these bridges each day is estimated at 178 million.

States that have reduced their number of deficient bridges the most in the last five years include Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Indiana, California and Ohio, the association reported, while the states where the number of problematic bridges increased include West Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Montana and Louisiana.

The data for the study came from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Bridge Inventory and is based on 2018 numbers.

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Which States Have the Highest Share of Deficient Bridges?

2018 % Deficient Rank	State	# of Bridges	# of Deficient Bridges	% Deficient Bridges	Rank Based on # of Deficient Bridges
1	Rhode Island	780	180	23.1	44
2	West Virginia	7,269	1,444	19.9	12
3	Iowa	24,123	4,675	19.4	1
4	South Dakota	5,824	973	16.7	19
5	Pennsylvania	22,737	3,770	16.6	2
6	Maine	2,473	325	13.1	36
7	Louisiana	12,899	1,678	13	9
8	Puerto Rico	2,325	273	11.7	40
9	Oklahoma	23,116	2,540	11	3
10	North Dakota	4,355	469	10.8	31
11	Michigan	11,228	1,196	10.7	16
12	North Carolina	18,377	1,871	10.2	6
13	New York	17,521	1,757	10	8
14	Alaska	1,592	155	9.7	45
15	Mississippi	17,071	1,603	9.4	10
16	Massachusetts	5,215	481	9.2	29
17	New Hampshire	2,494	224	9	43
18	Nebraska	15,349	1,358	8.8	13
19	Missouri	24,512	2,116	8.6	5
20	Illinois	26,809	2,273	8.5	4
21	South Carolina	9,401	795	8.5	21
22	Wyoming	3,129	257	8.2	41
23	New Jersey	6,746	544	8.1	27
24	Montana	5,265	390	7.4	33
25	Wisconsin	14,275	1,054	7.4	17
26	Connecticut	4,270	308	7.2	38
27	Kentucky	14,368	1,016	7.1	18
28	California	25,737	1,812	7	7
29	Idaho	4,482	315	7	37
30	Hawaii	1,137	78	6.9	47
31	Indiana	19,280	1,203	6.2	15
32	New Mexico	4,010	232	5.8	42
33	Ohio	27,277	1,518	5.6	11
34	Colorado	8,786	473	5.4	30
35	Kansas	24,906	1,288	5.2	14
36	Oregon	8,161	422	5.2	32
37	Maryland	5,357	274	5.1	39
38	Minnesota	13,358	668	5	24
39	Virginia	13,931	646	4.6	25
40	Washington	8,278	382	4.6	34
41	Arkansas	12,892	588	4.6	26
42	Tennessee	20,177	871	4.3	20
43	Alabama	16,130	689	4.3	23
44	Delaware	863	34	3.9	50
45	Georgia	14,879	494	3.3	28
46	District of Columbia	244	8	3.3	52
47	Florida	12,435	328	2.6	35
48	Vermont	2,778	66	2.4	48
49	Utah	3,061	66	2.2	49
50	Arizona	8,294	150	1.8	46
51	Nevada	1,979	27	1.4	51
52	Texas	54,131	695	1.3	22

Source: American Road & Transportation Builders Association