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

MICHIGAN — The catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday is raising questions in Michigan and elsewhere about the overall safety of bridges.

A federal Transportation Department report last year broke down the condition of the 11,341 in Michigan. Of the total number of bridges, 3,881 are in good condition, 6,168 are in fair condition and 1,292 are in poor condition.

Those bridges include 2,975 that are part of the National Highway System and are eligible for federal infrastructure money. Of the bridges in the federal highway system, 734 are in good condition, 2,018 are in fair condition and 223 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.

Officials identified 2,732 bridges in Michigan needed repairs, a number that has been trending upward over the past few years.

Over the life of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Michigan will receive a total of $608.2 million in bridge formula funds to help make the needed repairs. The state currently has access to $243.3 million of that total, and has committed $53.6 million towards 67 projects as of June 2023.

Michigan ranks No. 9 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