Closed bridges highlight years of neglect, backlog of repairs awaiting funding

By DAVID A. LIEB, MICHAEL CASEY, JEFF MCMURRAY and CHRISTOPHER KELLER
Associated Press

Thousands of old bridges across the U.S. are awaiting replacement or repairs after inspectors found them in poor condition. About 167 million vehicles travel daily over about 42,000 bridges that are categorized as poor. An Associated Press analysis determined that four-fifths of those have problems with the substructures that hold them up or the superstructures that support their load. And more than 15,800 of those bridges also were in poor shape a decade ago. A recent federal infrastructure law is providing $40 billion for bridges over five years. But even that is far short of what’s needed to make all the repairs.