Alabama Has 1,200 Structurally Deficient Bridges: Report

Americans cross bridges rated as "structurally deficient" 174 million times a day, according to a new analysis of federal data. There are more than 612,000 bridges in the country; of those, 54,259 were rated structurally deficient, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

Inspectors rate bridge decks and support structures on a scale of 0 to 9 for deterioration and remedial action. A rating of 9 means the bridge is in "excellent" condition. A rating of 4 or below means a bridge is classified as structurally deficient and in need of repair.

Alabama ranked 29th in the country in highest percentage of bridges deemed to be in poor condition and 17th highest based on the actual number of such bridges.

In Alabama, there were 1,200 structurally deficient bridges, the analysis found. That accounts for 7.4 percent of all bridges in Alabama. The state said 8,572 bridges are in need of repairs and estimated it would cost $15.3 billion to fix them.

Twenty structurally deficient bridges in the state are on the Interstate Highway System. Over the last five years, bridge investment has accounted for 26.3 percent of highway and bridge contract awards in the state, compared to an average of 28.9 percent nationwide.

In Jefferson County, I-65 over U.S. 11 is ranked as one of the most traveled structurally deficient bridges in the state with 136,580 daily crossings.

In 21 states nationwide, at least 9 percent of bridges were rated structurally deficient, the analysis found. If placed end-to-end, the number of such bridges could stretch more than 1,200 miles — nearly the distance between Miami and New York City.

On average, those bridges were built 67 years ago, when Harry Truman was president. Non-deficient bridges were 27 years younger on average.

Iowa, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and New York have the most structurally deficient bridges, the analysis found.

The Federal Highway Administration told NBC News in a statement, that the report "underscores the need for investment in our nation's infrastructure."

"It also highlights the importance of streamlining the permitting process, so that the projects that are funded can move forward without undue delay," the agency said.

The road and transportation group that conducted the analysis is a non-partisan federation that aims to "aggressively grow and protect transportation infrastructure investment" in order to meet demand for safe and efficient travel.

Alison Premo Black, chief economist for the group, said in a release that it would take 37 years to remedy every bridge at the current pace of repair or replacement. An infrastructure package aimed at modernizing the interstate system would benefit the economy both in the short and long term, she said.

Traffic bottlenecks cost the trucking industry alone more than $60 billion a year in lost productivity and fuel. That "increases the cost of everything we make, buy or export," she said.

President Donald Trump is expected to talk about the nation's crumbling infrastructure during the State of the Union on Tuesday night. During his campaign, he pledged to spend $1 trillion to rebuild America's roads and bridges.

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