Stories tagged with bridges

Click on a story title to read that post. Posts are ordered chronologically from newest to oldest.

Older Posts »

Release: New report highlights mounting challenge of aging bridges, ranks states
June 19, 2013
By

One in nine of the bridges and overpasses American drivers cross each day is rated in poor enough condition that some could become dangerous or be closed without near-term repair, according to an updated analysis of federal data released today by Transportation for America. Nearly 67,000 of the nation’s 605,000 bridges are rated “structurally deficient” and are in need of substantial repair or replacement, according to bridge inspections analyzed in The Fix We’re In For: The State of the Nation’s Bridges 2013. Nearly 8,000 are both structurally deficient and “fracture critical”, meaning they are designed with no redundancy in their key structural components, so that if one fails the bridge could collapse. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the backlog of troubled bridges would cost $76 billion to eliminate.

One in 9 bridges still “structurally deficient” as average age nears 50 years
June 19, 2013
By

One in nine of the bridges and overpasses American drivers cross each day is rated in poor enough condition that some could become dangerous or be closed without near-term repair, according to our new 2013 report on the nation’s bridges. Lay them all end-to-end and you could drive from Mexico to Canada across the US on one long deficient bridge. Don’t miss our new 2013 report and interactive map.

About those 66,000+ deficient bridges: What did last summer’s transportation law change?
May 30, 2013
By

With the second collapse of an Interstate bridge in six years, Americans might expect Congress to leap into action to ensure adequate funding for bridge rehab and replacement. But as we have reminded numerous reporters since an I-5 bridge dropped into Washington’s Skagit River, federal lawmakers instead took a gamble and eliminated the nation’s dedicated bridge repair fund last summer.

Bridge collapse in Washington captures national attention
May 29, 2013
By

Unsurprisingly, the sudden collapse of the 58-year-old Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington state last Thursday night captured the attention of the country and virtually all major national news outlets. Just like in the days after the Minnesapolis I-35W bridge collapse — though mercifully no one died in this incident — reporters scrambled to understand the issue of bridge condition and asked the same question: “how could this happen, and could it happen again somewhere else tomorrow?”

Tragic bridge collapse in Washington highlights urgent problem of aging and deficient US bridges
May 24, 2013
By

Transportation for America issued the following statement following last night’s collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River near Mount Vernon, Washington.

“The shocking collapse of a busy Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington State highlights the issue of our country’s aging bridges and what we’re doing to address them. Thankfully, no one was killed or even seriously injured in this collapse, which could not be said about the last high profile bridge collapse in Minnesota.

58-year-old bridge collapses in Washington State on west coast’s most major interstate
May 24, 2013
By

Shortly after the evening commute last night (around 7 p.m. local time) an entire section of the Interstate 5 bridge — both north and southbound lanes — over the Skagit River north of Seattle, Washington collapsed and fell into the river, sending two cars tumbling down into the river, injuring three yet miraculously killing no one. One of those who plunged into the river along with his wife called it a “miracle” that no one was killed or more severely injured.

Perhaps next time the 70,000 deficient bridges should lead the speech?
February 21, 2013
By

The White House put out a press release on the President’s plan for infrastructure that was introduced at the State of the Union last week, and though it’s still short on details, it does start to paint a picture of what the President intends. The three major thrusts of the plan are investing in a “fix-it-first” policy, attracting private investment through a “Rebuild America Partnership”, and a plan to cut red tape and speed up the timeframe for transportation projects.

The President proposes a plan to “Fix It First” — how will Congress respond?
February 14, 2013
By

Screen shot 2013-02-13 at 9.45.54 AMDid you watch the State of the Union address Tuesday evening? With the country watching, President Obama shone a national spotlight on the pressing issue of dangerous and deficient bridges on roads all across our country. “Tonight, I propose a “Fix It First” program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country,” he said. Tell your Representative and Senators today you agree with the President.

AP says attacks on transportation enhancements are “exaggerated and misrepresented”
November 1, 2011
By

On Friday, we highlighted the disingenuous attempt from some in Congress to tie the need to repair our bridges to the elimination of a tiny program to make it safer to walk or bike on our streets and roads. Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona have been [...]

A real plan to fix bridges, or a reprise of attacks on pedestrian safety?
October 28, 2011
By

Our reports calling attention to our nation’s deficient bridges have gained enormous traction in recent weeks, to the point that members of Congress and the White House are citing our data in demonstrating the need for infrastructure investment. Unfortunately, some are using them to make disingenuous attempts to eliminate a small program they’ve been trying [...]

Older posts »

About Us | Our Partners | Contact Us | For The Media | Become a Partner

Transportation for America
1707 L Street NW Ste. 250
Washington, DC 20036
202-955-5543

Creative Commons License

This site is licensed under a
Creative Commons License
.