Nearly 10 percent of the 4,218 bridges in Connecticut are structurally deficient, and the number is climbing every year, according to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.
FHA rated 413 bridges as structurally deficient in 2013 and another 1,059 as functionally obsolete. The ratings don’t necessarily mean the bridges are unsafe, but that major parts of them are in poor condition.
The number of deficient bridges has increased steadily over the past decade as Connecticut’s road infrastructure is failing and the money to maintain and rehab it is limited. In 2003, Connecticut had 344 structurally deficient bridges. Five years later, that number grew to 372.
Connecticut still beats the national average that has 10.5 percent of all bridges as structurally deficient, although – unlike Connecticut – the national average has decreased over the past 10 years – from 13.9 percent in 2003.
