A Closer Look at Bridge Infrastructure Across the US

Photo by Rebekah Hendricks '24

Following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, it raised concerns about the status and vulnerability of bridges across the country.

Whether it be commuting to and from work, transporting goods or traveling on vacation, bridges in the U.S. are crossed hundreds of millions of times.

Do you ever ask yourself: Is this bridge safe? How old is the bridge that I’m crossing? When was the last time this bridge went under any maintenance work?

With the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the ever-neglected infrastructure issue has become the topic of national conversation in recent weeks.

The Key Bridge collapsed after a cargo ship, named the Dali, crashed into a bridge column in the early hours of March 26, sending much of the 1.6-mile-long bridge into the Patapsco River.

“I thought it was really scary; I have relatives that live in Maryland,” said Erica Quadrini ‘26. “When I went home for Easter break, I had to go over one of the bridges, and so I kept my windows open and was so aware of what was in the water, which I’ve never done before.”

The Dali, which is 945 feet long, lost propulsion and steering due to unknown mechanical issues and was unable to avoid colliding with the bridge.

The collision killed six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time. Police were able to stop traffic from entering the bridge but were unable to reach the workers before the ship hit the bridge.

“I think it needs to be a higher issue. Considering that something of that nature can result in those deaths is devastating to those families. The government has to take some initiative,” said William Teed ‘26.

In 2023, over 76,000 bridges in the U.S. needed replacing, and 36% of all bridges required major work or replacement, according to an annual report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

The resulting amount of road stretches 6,100 miles, with an average of seven percent of bridges in each state needing replacement, with 18 states over that average.

“I think it’s terrible to see that there’s clear deficiencies and the statistics back it up that the United States isn’t taking infrastructure as a high priority. I think that something needs to change,” said Teed.

In the state of New York, 1,578 bridges are categorized as “structurally deficient,” meaning they are in poor condition, rather than in fair or good condition. New York ranks 13th in the highest percentage of bridges that are structurally deficient and seventh in the number of structurally deficient bridges out of all 50 states.

Of the 10 structurally deficient bridges in New York with the most daily crossings, the average age is 63 years old.

In November 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill into law, worth $1 trillion, including $550 billion in new spending to modernize, replace and build infrastructure across the country. The largest chunk of that spending, $110 billion, goes to building and repairing bridges and roads.

From this bill, the state of New York received $26 billion overall, and $1.9 billion of that is set aside for bridge repairs.

“General transport infrastructure is a bit slow in general,” said Aidan McCormack ’24. “If there is more governmental focus on solving this, it would make it much easier for everyone to get around their day safer.”

In a New York Times analysis of data from the National Bridge Inventory, 309 bridges on navigable waterways have either become outdated, deteriorated or have no protection systems for the bridge foundations that hold the bridge up.

Some of these bridges are in the Hudson Valley, including the Mid-Hudson Bridge, the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. The Mid-Hudson has no pier protection, making the bridge vulnerable to any sort of collision.

According to the ARTBA report, the number of bridges in poor condition declined by 560 from 2022 to 2023. At that rate, it would take 75 years to repair every bridge that is classified in poor condition.

One factor contributing to the pace of bridge repair is commitment at the state level. As of June 30, 2023, only eight states committed more than two-thirds of their available funds to repair, restore or replace bridges. Thirty-one states committed less than 33% of their funds.

In a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in June 2023, “conditions of roads, bridges and other infrastructure” was the 13th ranked issue out of 16 total.

“I think it’s really important because it’s everything around us, and if that’s not stable, then it poses a threat to everybody,” said Quadrini.