A study of the US Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) newly-released 2016 National Bridge Inventory data has found that the country currently has a total of 55,710 structurally compromised bridges.

Of those bridges, around 1,900 fall on the Interstate Highway System in the US, while cars, trucks and school buses crossthosebridges185 million times a day. 

In addition, the state transportation departments have identified 13,000 Interstate bridges that currently require replacement, widening or major reconstruction.

As per the analysis, conducted by American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) chief economist Dr Alison Premo Black, 28% of bridges are more than 50 years old and have never undergone any major reconstruction work.

The study also reveals that 41% of US bridges are over 40 years old and have not had major reconstruction work.

Black said: “America’s highway network is woefully underperforming.

"It is outdated, overused, underfunded and in desperate need of modernisation.

“State and local transportation departments haven’t been provided the resources to keep pace with the nation’s bridge needs.”

" State and local transportation departments haven’t been provided the resources to keep pace with the nation’s bridge needs."

The ARTBA study also showed that around 15% of bridges in eight US states of Rhode Island, Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia, Nebraska, North Dakota and Oklahoma, fall in the structurally deficient category.

With Iowa topping the list, the US states that are currently having the most structurally deficient bridges include Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio and New York.

The places, which have the least structurally deficient bridges, are Columbia (9), Nevada (31), Delaware (43), Hawaii (64) and Utah (95).

Image: Infographic on structurally deficient bridges in the US. Photo: courtesy of The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).