America's Worst Bridges: 5 Are In The Hudson Valley

Americans cross bridges rated as "structurally deficient" 174 million times a day, according to a new analysis of federal data by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. Five bridges in the Hudson Valley made the association's list of the Top 250 U.S. Deficient Bridges Based on Daily Crossings in the country.

Ranked No. 92 is the I-87 bridge over Route 303, 2.2 miles east of the intersection between the New York State Thruway and the Palisades Parkway, in Rockland County. Built in 1953, it has 134,573 daily crossings.

No. 155 is in southern Westchester: the I-95 bridge over the King's Highway just north of the intersection with I-195. Built in 1954, it carries 106,892 vehicles a day.

No. 163 is I-87 over Route 45 in Rockland.

No. 164 is I-87 over Spook Rock Road in Rockland.

No. 165 is I-87 over Saddle River Road in Rockland.

All five have been rated "structurally deficient" for the past three years.

Inspectors rate bridge decks and support structures on a scale of zero to nine for deterioration and remedial action. A rating of nine means the bridge is in "excellent" condition. A rating of four or below means a bridge is classified as structurally deficient and in need of repair.

There are more than 612,000 bridges in the country; of those, 54,259 were rated structurally deficient, according to the study. In 21 states nationwide, at least 9 percent of bridges were rated structurally deficient, the analysis found. If placed end-to-end, the number of such bridges could stretch more than 1,200 miles — nearly the distance between Miami and New York City.

On average, those bridges were built 67 years ago, when Harry Truman was president. Non-deficient bridges were 27 years younger on average.

Iowa, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and New York have the most structurally deficient bridges, the analysis found.

In New York:

• Of the 17,456 bridges in the state, 1,837, or 10.5 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition.
• 188 structurally deficient bridges in the state are on the Interstate Highway System.
• 841 bridges are posted for load, which may restrict the size and weight of vehicles crossing the structure.
• Over the last five years, bridge investment has accounted for 65.8 percent of highway and bridge contract awards in the state, compared to an average of 28.9 percent nationwide.
• Over the last 10 years, 1,450 new bridges have been constructed in the state; 750 have undergone major reconstruction.
• The state has identified needed repairs on 17,437 bridges; which the state estimates will cost $67.7 billion.3

See the whole report.

The Federal Highway Administration told NBC News in a statement that the report "underscores the need for investment in our nation's infrastructure."

"It also highlights the importance of streamlining the permitting process, so that the projects that are funded can move forward without undue delay," the agency said.

The road and transportation group that conducted the analysis is a non-partisan federation that aims to "aggressively grow and protect transportation infrastructure investment" in order to meet demand for safe and efficient travel.

Alison Premo Black, chief economist for the group, said in a release that it would take 37 years to remedy every bridge at the current pace of repair or replacement. An infrastructure package aimed at modernizing the interstate system would benefit the economy both in the short and long term, she said.

Traffic bottlenecks cost the trucking industry alone more than $60 billion a year in lost productivity and fuel. That "increases the cost of everything we make, buy or export," she said.

Image via Google Maps

By Daniel Hampton, Patch Staff. Patch Editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.