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

RHODE ISLAND — The catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday and the Washington Bridge issues in Providence and East Providence are raising questions in Rhode Island and elsewhere about the overall safety of bridges.

A federal Transportation Department report last year broke down the condition of the 782 bridges in Rhode Island. Of those bridges, just 177 are in good condition, while 485 are in fair condition and 120 are in poor condition.

Those bridges include 419 that are part of the National Highway System and are eligible for federal infrastructure money. Of the bridges in the federal highway system, 88 are in good condition, 250 are in fair condition and 51 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.

Here are some key findings from Rhode Island:

• The state has identified needed repairs on 716 bridges.
• This compares to 719 bridges that needed work in 2019.
• Over the life of the IIJA, Rhode Island will receive a total of $255.0 million in bridge formula funds, which will help make needed repairs.
• Rhode Island currently has access to $102.0 million of that total, and has committed $41.9 million towards 12 projects as of June 2023.
• Of the 782 bridges in the state, 120, or 15.3 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition.
• This is down from 174 bridges classified as structurally deficient in 2019.
• The deck area of structurally deficient bridges accounts for 15.3 percent of total deck area on all structures.

Rhode Island ranks No. 4 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.

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.