New report points to the poor condition of Pennsylvania’s bridges

(Harrisburg) — A new report on bridges in Pennsylvania outlines significant challenges that lie ahead. 

The study comes from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

Chief Economist Allison Black says Pennsylvania has the nation’s second-highest number of bridges which have been declared structurally deficient.

“Structurally deficient is a term that means one of the major elements of the bridge when it is inspected is given a rating of poor or worse.  Typically it is either the superstructure, which is the portion above the bridge, the deck, or the substructure underneath,” Black said.

The report does credit the state for funding increases and other policy changes to address the issue,  but says that bridges being added to the list may exceed the number being repaired or replaced.

Pennsylvania has almost 4,800 structurally deficient bridges, second only to Iowa.