8.7% Of All Bridges In Massachusetts Are In Danger Of Collapsing

MASSACHUSETTS — A new report from a road contractors' lobbying group lists 43,578 bridges across the country that are "structurally deficient" and in danger of collapsing.

The report from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, based on data downloaded Jan. 3, lists 456 of the 5,245 bridges in Massachusetts - or 8.7 percent as structurally deficient.

A bridge is classified as structurally deficient if the deck, superstructure, or substructure are in poor condition, or if the culvert below it is in poor condition, according to government definitions.

The number of bridges in danger of collapsing is down from 473 bridges that were originally classified as structurally deficient in 2017. The Bay State has identified needed repairs on 4,898 bridges at an estimated cost of $16.7 billion.

Massachusetts ranked 15th in the nation in percentage of structurally deficient bridges, with West Virginia coming in 1st, with 20.4% of bridges in danger of collapsing.

Earlier this year, the Transportation Department targeted about 15,000 crumbling 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 condition of the nation's bridges was spectacularly illustrated with the Pittsburgh bridge collapse in January. The same day, President Joe Biden visited the area to tout 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 crumbling 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.