ARTBA: More Than One-Third of U.S. Bridges Need Major Repair or Replacement

A new analysis from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association found that nearly 221,800 bridges in the U.S. are in need of serious repair. However, this is the fourth year in a row where the number of bridges in need of major repair or replacement has declined.

ARTBA analyzed the U.S. Depart of Transportation’s National Bridge Inventory, which was updated August 29, and found the number of bridges in need of replace or repair fell slightly in 2024 from 222,017 last year. The percentage of U.S. bridges in need of repair or replacement, however, remained unchanged at 36%. ARTBA estimates it would cost more than $400 billion to address all those needs.

Just 2% of U.S. bridges requiring major work need deck rehabilitation or replacement.ARTBA

Among bridges needing work, 76,175 (34%) need total replacement; 51,366 (23%) require rehabilitation; and 40,552 (18%) require widening and rehabilitation.

The number of bridges in “poor condition” came in at 42,067, down from 42,391 in 2023. The percentage of bridges classified as structurally deficient remained unchanged at 6.8%.

The percentage of bridges classified as structurally deficient in 2024 remained unchanged at 6.8%.ARTBA

The definition of “poor” is when a key element of the bridge, such as the deck, is rated in poor or worse condition. During inspection, the conditions of a variety of bridge elements are rated on a scale of 0 (failed) to 9 (excellent). A rating of 4 is considered “poor.” 

States with the biggest decline in the number of bridges in poor condition were Pennsylvania (down 90), Louisiana (down 87), Florida (down 85), West Virginia (down 74 bridges) and California (down 64).

The number of bridges in poor condition rose in New York (up 86), Kentucky (up 60), South Carolina (up 59), Illinois (up 45) and Puerto Rico (up 38).

The states or territories with the most bridges in poor condition, as a percentage of their total bridge inventory, are:

1. Iowa (19.2%, #2 in 2023)
2. West Virginia (18.6%, #1 in 2023)
3. South Dakota (16.4%, #3 in 2023)
4. Maine (15.4%, #5 in 2023)
5. Rhode Island (15.2%, #4 in 2023)
6. Puerto Rico (13.9%, #7 in 2023)
7. Pennsylvania (12.6%, #6 in 2023)
8. Louisiana (11.5%, #8 in 2023)
9. Michigan (11.3%, #9 in 2023)
10. North Dakota (11%, #10 in 2023)

States with the largest number of bridges in poor condition, are:

1. Iowa (4,544, #1 in 2023)
2. Pennsylvania (2,932, #2 in 2023)
3. Illinois (2,517, #3 in 2023)
4. Missouri (2,203, #4 in 2023)
5. Oklahoma (1,764, #5 in 2023)
6. New York (1,664, #7 in 2023)
7. California (1,527, #6 in 2023)
8. Louisiana (1,458 #8 in 2023)
9. West Virginia (1,370, #9 in 2023)
10. Kansas (1,310,

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