The recent collapse of a section of I-95 in Pennsylvania highlighted what experts have been saying for years: America's bridges and roads need work, some urgently. Although the work on I-95 has proceeded at a record pace—it's scheduled to reopen within weeks—it isn't the first bridge to experience a catastrophic issue in recent years, and it's unlikely to be the last. Is the next one near you? Scientific American recently rounded up the ten counties with the worst bridges in America.
This area of Alaska has the worst bridge conditions in the United States. About 66.7% of the bridges in this county have been classified as "poor," according to data assembled by the Federal Highway Administration.
The #2 worst bridge conditions can be found in this county in Florida's panhandle, where nearly half of the bridges—48.8%— are considered in poor condition. The number of bridges with that designation has increased from 13 to 21 in just two years.
The #3 to #7 spots are held by five counties in Iowa: Ringgold (where 43.8% of bridges are classified as "poor"), Adams (42.5%), Poweshiek (42.3%), Marshall (41.4%), and Decatur (40.7%).
This equivalent to a county in Virginia only has five bridges. But 40% of them are in poor condition.
Holding spots #9 and #10 are Taylor County and Madison County in Iowa, where the Federal Highway Administration has classified 38.5% and 38.2% of bridges to be in poor condition, respectively.
Scott Neubauer, a bridge maintenance and inspection engineer at the Iowa Department of Transportation, told Scientific American that Iowa has many bridges and a relatively small population—meaning that many of the state's bridges don't get much traffic. "Some bridges only see 15 to 30 vehicles passing through in a day," he says. With limited funds, the state has to prioritize the maintenance and repair of busy state highways, "We are doing the best we can with the funds we have," he said.
