The Fix We’re In For: The State of Our Bridges

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Iowa Bridges

  • State rank
    3 of 51
  • Total bridges
    24,722
  • Average age
    42 years
  • Structurally deficient:
    5,371
  • Percent deficient:
    21.7%
Best Counties Deficient
Dubuque County 6.7%
Linn County 5.6%
Osceola County 5.3%
Jackson County 4.2%
Clinton County 3.7%
Worst Counties Deficient
Adams County 46.5%
Winnebago County 44.1%
Davis County 43.3%
Lucas County 38.9%
Plymouth County 38.9%
Iowa State Report
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The Fix We're In For:
The State of Iowa's Bridges

Deficient Bridges

  • 25%+
  • 22-25%
  • 17-22%
  • 12-17%
  • 7-12%
  • 0-7%
Iowa

Download the National Report PDF

The Fix We're In For national report includes a summary of the problem, recommendations that could help reduce the alarming repair backlog, and the full battery of data, including the worst 100 counties and the two busiest structurally deficient bridges in each state.

NEW: The Nation's Busiest Bridges

This new report and its rankings look at the problem from a metropolitan perspective. Bridges in metro areas carry a disproportionate share of all trips on deficient bridges — the largest 102 metro areas carry 75 percent of all traffic crossing a deficient bridge each day.

The State of Our Nation's Bridges

Despite billions of dollars in federal, state and local funds directed toward the maintenance of existing bridges, 68,842 bridges — 11.5 percent of total highway bridges in the U.S. — are classified as "structurally deficient," requiring significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement.

Two key problems persist: while Congress has repeatedly declared bridge safety a national priority, existing federal programs don't ensure that aging bridges actually get fixed; and the current level of investment is nowhere near what is needed to keep up with our rapidly growing backlog of aging bridges.

Learn More About Our Bridge Backlog

Did you know that states can transfer up to half of their federal money dedicated to bridge repair to other projects, no questions asked? Learn more about our bridges — and what we can do to start fixing them.

Click for more details about the data.

Tell Congress: Fix It!

America's transportation system is broken. Bridges are crumbling, commute times are longer than ever, and too few people have access to good options. It's past time to fix it.


Add your name to the growing list of Americans calling on Congress to fix it for America and give us safe, affordable and timely transportation options that we need

Iowa Counties, Ranked by Percentage of Structurally Deficient Bridges

CountyNumber of BridgesNumber of structurally deficient bridgesPercent of bridges that are structurally deficientBridge average annual daily trafficAverage daily traffic on SD bridges
Adams2029446.5%33,8317,211
Winnebago1114944.1%31,6653,720
Davis2109143.3%50,1096,659
Lucas2037938.9%62,39013,910
Plymouth53520838.9%405,58335,913
Keokuk2098038.3%57,7855,600
Taylor2559637.6%24,2152,990
Boone1364835.3%100,73524,045
Guthrie2769735.1%62,21012,625
Monroe1495234.9%44,1503,420
Van Buren1675834.7%36,6056,655
Warren2709334.4%406,35547,390
Adair31910733.5%254,23019,174
Jefferson1645533.5%93,9905,440
Tama36211832.6%150,67628,535
Ringgold2548232.3%33,6053,635
Hancock1555032.3%49,4114,716
Madison2277231.7%80,5108,965
Worth1143631.6%124,0579,622
Clarke1735330.6%98,4607,705
Shelby2437430.5%66,74511,105
Union1895730.2%74,9173,046
Audubon2377130.0%51,5263,215
Wapello2106229.5%307,83440,065
Wayne1654829.1%28,7103,520
Lyon2798129.0%88,75312,762
Appanoose2076029.0%61,6783,244
Marion2356828.9%164,61711,962
Webster2487128.6%278,63132,809
Franklin2266327.9%196,9086,544
Mills1945327.3%270,39531,720
Montgomery2256026.7%92,8107,390
Mitchell1684426.2%58,33012,030
Winneshiek3589326.0%141,11510,207
Cherokee2486425.8%108,40911,174
Woodbury46211524.9%1,157,792170,367
Howard2165324.5%56,3902,555
Jasper4089924.3%616,61638,695
Henry1784324.2%158,1904,945
Butler2856823.9%113,29014,915
Monona1724023.3%100,15029,835
Clayton2766423.2%107,86211,743
Cedar3117223.2%402,08133,316
Iowa2646123.1%396,84024,750
Palo Alto1383122.5%42,3102,005
Cass2996722.4%321,01566,100
Harrison2245022.3%342,20731,367
Humboldt1042322.1%54,6445,025
Washington2224922.1%229,35912,291
Wright1954322.1%97,5816,591
Marshall3156921.9%319,17135,985
Poweshiek2896321.8%272,04556,390
Mahaska2495321.3%154,4953,090
Decatur2094421.1%107,30220,237
Muscatine1483120.9%205,70018,190
Crawford3186620.8%174,55012,715
Pocahontas2134420.7%61,2002,090
Bremer2575320.6%233,38810,548
Page2094320.6%73,0357,515
Sac2294720.5%64,6908,857
Fremont1763519.9%153,9507,955
Jones2494919.7%164,1856,664
Buena Vista1583119.6%65,9014,455
Pottawattamie58111319.4%2,032,716136,952
Hardin2554919.2%185,62327,929
Cerro Gordo2594918.9%619,32962,615
Floyd2123918.4%174,08420,564
Dallas1803318.3%458,24335,010
Story2975317.8%757,05826,875
Des Moines1763117.6%303,64018,335
Carroll2804917.5%148,16010,440
Hamilton1712917.0%280,1047,680
Emmet771316.9%32,390625
Fayette3625916.3%160,56513,468
Ida1832915.8%69,98514,495
Clay1592515.7%104,98512,645
Benton3665615.3%208,96422,799
Lee2203315.0%242,09511,765
Grundy2754114.9%188,4106,710
Louisa1442013.9%90,8434,677
Dickinson731013.7%63,7894,425
O'Brien2783713.3%91,4501,525
Buchanan3144113.1%292,08410,080
Kossuth2803612.9%80,7557,325
Johnson3604612.8%1,432,55676,182
Greene1682112.5%57,92512,765
Polk5236312.0%6,176,704455,745
Chickasaw3113611.6%110,7842,765
Black Hawk4955711.5%1,599,35280,677
Allamakee1982211.1%67,6052,035
Delaware2903010.3%183,0222,780
Scott291268.9%1,661,39739,390
Sioux438347.8%208,30210,230
Calhoun197157.6%54,3353,530
Dubuque327226.7%679,15414,855
Linn466265.6%2,360,47853,324
Osceola187105.3%83,490230
Jackson259114.2%147,532350
Clinton374143.7%431,4684,513
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