After Baltimore Bridge Collapse, A Question: How Safe Are CT Bridges?

CONNECTICUT — The catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday is raising questions in Connecticut and elsewhere about the overall safety of bridges.

A federal Transportation Department report last year broke down the condition of the 4,362 bridges in Connecticut. Of the total number of bridges, 1,235 are in good condition, 2,908 are in fair condition and 219 are in poor condition.

Those bridges include 1,823 that are part of the National Highway System and are eligible for federal infrastructure money. Of the bridges in the federal highway system, 356 are in good condition, 1,420 are in fair condition and 47 are in poor condition.

Overall, more than 42,400 of the nation’s roughly 621,500 bridges are rated in poor condition. Of those, about 4,450 of nearly 147,000 bridges in the federal highway system are rated as poor.

Another report using federal data and released by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association found 1 in 3 bridges in the United States should be repaired or replaced.

According to the ARTBA report, Connecticut has identified needed repairs on 391 bridges, compared to 432 bridges that needed work in 2019. Of the 4,362 bridges in the state, 219, or 5.0 percent, are classified as structurally deficient, meaning one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition. This is down from 275 bridges classified as structurally deficient in 2019.

Connecticut ranks No. 34 in structurally deficient bridges in that report. The 10 states with the most structurally deficient bridges are:

1. West Virginia, 20 percent
2. Iowa, 19 percent
3. South Dakota, 17 percent
4. Rhode Island, 15 percent
5. Maine, 15 percent
6. Pennsylvania, 13 percent
7. Puerto Rico, 13 percent
8. Louisiana, 12 percent
9. Michigan, 11 percent
10. North Dakota, 11 percent

Read Baltimore Patch’s complete coverage of the bridge collapse:

• Bridge Collapses After Cargo Ship Hits It
• ‘I Didn’t Think It Was Real’: Residents React
• Photos: A Search For Survivors After Bridge Collapse