Structurally Deficient Bridges In MOCO Listed In New Report

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A new report from a road contractors’ lobbying group lists 15 bridges in Montgomery County that are “structurally deficient," meaning that its deck, superstructure or substructure are in poor condition, or if the culvert below it is in poor condition, according to government definitions.

The report from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, based on data downloaded Jan. 3, lists 43,578 structurally deficient bridges across the country.

Earlier this year, the Transportation Department targeted about 15,000 bridges for repair in a five-year, $27 billion program — the largest dedicated bridge investment in U.S. history since the interstate highway system was authorized in the 1950s.

"The Maryland Department of Transportation is reviewing the guidelines on the Bridge Investment announced as part of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)," MDOT Spokesperson Erin Henson told Patch in an email. "As with other elements of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), MDOT and all of its agencies are waiting to learn exactly how much funding will be appropriated in all categories and what the parameters are on how we are able to spend the different types of funding that IIJA will provide."

Montgomery County Bridges

These bridges were included in the report as "structurally deficient." The report doesn't list every structurally deficient bridge — it gives an overview of Maryland's eight congressional districts and names the 25 structurally deficient bridges that are traveled the most in each area. For context, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge saw roughly 75,000 crossings per day in 2019.

The condition of bridges became part of a national conversation when a Pittsburgh bridge collapsed in January. The same day, President Joe Biden visited the area to talk about his $1 trillion infrastructure program and dedicated funding to fix bridges.

This is the eighth year the road and bridge contractors group has compiled the inventory of structurally deficient bridges. It’s based on reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation by the agency’s state counterparts for inclusion in the National Bridge Inventory.

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association is a lobbying group whose 28 political action committees gave more than $2.6 million to political candidates in 2019-2020, including about $518,270 to Democrats and $2.15 million to Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.org.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Patch Field Editor Jacob Baumgart contributed reporting to this story.