A proposed federal infrastructure bill aimed at upgrading the nation’s transportation systems, another other projects, includes funding to repair thousands of the country’s bridges.
Ohio, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, has 1,377 bridges rated as “poor.” How many of those bridges will be repaired likely won’t be known until after the bill is approved, assuming it is approved by Congress and President Joe Biden.
Though Ohio has 1,377 bridges, or 5 percent of its 27,072 bridges, rated as poor, percentagewise the state has fewer bridges in need of repair than many states.
There are 34 states with a higher percentage of bridges rated “poor” than Ohio. Twenty-one percent of West Virginia’s bridges, for example, are “poor,” according to the data, the highest percentage of “poor” bridges in the country.
Only 1.4 percent of Nevada’s bridges are rated as “poor,” the lowest percentage in the nation, according to the data, which was compiled last year.
In Ohio, 72 percent of the bridges rated “poor” were built more than 50 years ago, according to the highway administration’s report.