Report: R.I. first in nation for percentage of deficient bridges

THE AMERICAN ROAD & TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION said Rhode Island has the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the nation at 25 percent. / COURTESY AMERICAN ROAD & TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION
THE AMERICAN ROAD & TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION said Rhode Island has the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the nation at 25 percent. / COURTESY AMERICAN ROAD & TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION

PROVIDENCE – For the third year in a row, Rhode Island ranks first in the nation for having the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges at 25 percent, according to the latest Bridge Report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association released recently.

Of the Ocean State’s 772 bridges, 192 are classified as structurally deficient, according to the report. That means one or more key elements, such as the deck, superstructure, substructure or retaining walls, are in poor or worse condition.

The association also said 242 bridges, or 31 percent, are classified as functionally obsolete, meaning they do not meet current design standards. The report also said that the state has identified needed repairs on 724 bridges, which the state estimates will cost $3 billion.

It said that federal investment in Rhode Island has supported $930.5 million for capital improvements on 325 bridges between 2005 and 2014.

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RhodeWorks, a key initiative by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, was enacted last year to help fund repairs to the state’s crumbling roads and bridges. It will place tolls on large, commercial trucks.

“When we took office, Rhode Island had the worst bridges of any state in America. So we got to work,” Raimondo said in a statement released earlier this week. “We came up with a plan that allows us to fix more than 150 structurally deficient bridges in Rhode Island, and make repairs to another 500 bridges to prevent them from becoming deficient. Today, the construction industry is back at work rebuilding Rhode Island.”

The report included a list of the most traveled structurally deficient bridges. Here are the top five, which are all in Providence County:

  • Interstate 95 northbound and southbound over U.S. 6 Woonsocket River Amtrak, with 171,707 crossings. Built in 1964.
  • I-95 northbound and southbound over Blackstone Street, with 167,639 crossings. Built in 1961.
  • I-95 northbound and southbound over Wellington Avenue, with 157,769 crossings. Built in 1964.
  • I-95 northbound and southbound Amtrak with 157,769 crossings. Built in 1964.
  • I-95 northbound and southbound over U.S. 1 Elmwood Avenue, with 157,769 crossings. Built in 1965.

When ranked by the total number of structurally deficient bridges, Iowa leads the nation for the second year in a row with 4,968. Massachusetts again is 31st with 5,171.

Rhode Island is 44th with 772. It improved one spot from last year in this ranking.

In the list that ranks states according to their percentage of deficient bridges, Iowa was second at 20.5 percent. Massachusetts ranks 20th at 9.3 percent.

The association said it analyzed U.S. Department of Transportation 2016 National Bridge Inventory data to come up with its findings. It said cars, trucks and school buses cross the nation’s 55,710 structurally compromised bridges 185 million times daily.

The inventory of structurally deficient bridges has declined 0.5 percent since the 2015 report, the association said.

American Road & Transportation Builders Association Chief Economist Alison Premo Black conducted the analysis and said the data shows 28 percent of bridges (173,919) are more than 50 years old and have never had any major reconstruction work in that time.

“America’s highway network is woefully underperforming. It is outdated, overused, underfunded and in desperate need of modernization,” Black stated. “State and local transportation departments haven’t been provided the resources to keep pace with the nation’s bridge needs.”

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1 COMMENT

  1. Talk about a headline that creates an opening with your chin stuck way out front!

    The headline: R.I. first in nation for percentage of deficient bridges

    Same headline with a word or two change!

    R.I. first in nation for “number” of deficient “Elected-Officials”! 🙂