$400 Million Repair Cost for Bergen Bridges [Interactive Map]

The most structurally deficient bridge in New Jersey is right here in Bergen County, according to a new study.

The Court Street Bridge a mile north of I-80 in Hackensack, which has been recently repaired, sits at the bottom of the list of deficient bridges across the state, according to a NJ Spotlight analysis of data from the National Bridge Inventory.

The analysis looked at infrastructure across the state and found that one in four bridges "is in poor condition or inadequate to handle modern traffic loads."

The price tag to fix the deficiencies across Bergen County comes in at approximately $400 million, while the cost to fix bridges across New Jersey is approximately $6 billion.

According to NJ Spotlight, however, the ultimate cost to repair bridges statewide may end up being even higher because some of the NBI cost estimates may date back several years.

The average age for the 904 bridges inventoried by the NBI is 52 years, according to the study. Of those 904 bridges, 6 percent are structurally deficient and another 20 percent are functionally obsolete. 

Across the state 9.3 were rated “structurally deficient,” a term meaning the bridges are in a deteriorated condition or the pass below the bridge is inadequate. Still another 16.3 percent are “functionally obsolete,” which means lane, shoulder and other clearances were deficient, or the bridges occasionally flooded.

Federal highway officials note that the designations do not necessarily mean the bridges are critically unsafe, but that they are in need rehab, repair or replacement.

The Court Street Bridge underwent extensive rehabilitation over the past several years to the tune of $19.2 million, according to northjersey.com.  More than $17 million came from a 2010 federal stimulus package.

The bridge was reopened in September last year, presumably after the NBI data had been compiled.