SCARY: Iowa Has the Most Structurally Deficient Bridges in the US

I was in Minneapolis just a few miles from the hwy. 35 bridge when it collapsed in 2007, I have been fascinated with bridges and road projects ever since. Now, that drew worldwide attention to the importance of bridge maintenance - I certainly learned a lot. I learned about the Washington, D.C. based American Road & Transportation Builders Association, or ARTBA, advocates strong investment in transportation infrastructure. Today, they put out a list of how the bridges are in each state.

Unfortunately, Iowa's are dead last. ARTBA's website shows Iowa's bridges remain the most structurally deficient in America. We're also number two in the nation in percentage of structurally deficient bridges. The worst is West Virginia.

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Of the worst bridges in Iowa that see a lot of travel, two are in Black Hawk County, more specifically Waterloo.

E Ridgeway over Dry Run Creek - 9,800 motorists per day

Google

11th St. bridge over Cedar River 7,400 motorists per day.

Google

Of the 23,982 bridges in the state of Iowa, 4,571, or about 19% are considered structurally deficient. While some are tiny, and others are massive, many of the state's bridges could be putting motorists safety in jeopardy.

Source: Statista

As can be seen from the Statists chart, Iowa has more than 1,000 more structurally deficient bridges than the state with the next worst in deficiency, Pennsylvania. The website also says nationwide, 220,000 American bridges need repair work.

Drive safe.