Over 220,000 U.S. bridges need major repair work or should be replaced, according to an analysis of the U.S. DOT 2020 National Bridge Inventory (NBI) database.
That figure represents 36%, or more than one-third, of all U.S. bridges.
The analysis of the NBI database was conducted by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). ARTBA finds that while the number of structurally deficient (SD) bridges declined 2.5% last year to 45,000, the number of bridges falling into fair condition grew more than 3,600 to almost 295,000. At the current pace, ARTBA says, it would take 40 years to repair the current backlog of SD bridges.
