Here’s where the best and worst bridges are in the U.S.

Despite an overall decline in the percentage of bridges in “good” condition, there are bright spots across the U.S. There are also parts of the country where bridge conditions have sharply declined.

“While the condition of the nation’s bridges could certainly improve, they are doing better than many other infrastructure systems that Americans rely on,” Marsia Geldert-Murphey, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, told ConsumerAffairs.

She said the trend toward “fair” bridges instead of “good” bridges is a result of decades of underinvestment and aging infrastructure and that various parts of the country are doing better or worse than others due to differences in reliable funding and commitments from politicians.

Funding could be improved if taxes were increased for the federal Highway Trust Fund, which has had the same 18.4-cent-per-gallon tax since 1993, Geldert-Murphey said.

What is a ‘good,’ ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ bridge?

Below are the definitions from the Federal Highway Administration about what constitutes “good,” “fair” and “poor” bridge conditions. The agency collects and publishes data on hundreds of thousands of bridge inspection reports every year from across the U.S. and its territories. There were ratings on 623,218 bridges in 2024, up from 621,581 in 2023.

• Good: Some minor problems.
• Fair: All primary structural elements are sound but may have minor section loss, cracking, spalling or scour.
• Poor: Advanced section loss, deterioration, spalling or scour.

A numerical scale of 0 to 9 determines each bridge rating. If all three key parts of a bridge — the deck, superstructure and culvert — receive a score of 7 or above, it is considered “good.” Bridges that get a score of 5 or 6 on just one of those structures are listed as “fair,” while a rating of 4 or below on any of the structures determines that the bridge is in “poor” condition.

In July, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it would spend more than $5 billion on the reconstruction, repair and restoration of bridges in 16 states, including $1.4 billion for two bridges on Interstate 5 in Oregon, $993 million for the Sagamore Bridge in Massachusetts and $550 million for Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project in Alabama.

Bridge ratings strongly influence where government funding goes. The latest allocation aims to reduce the number of bridges in “poor” condition and prevent the risk of “fair” bridges falling into “poor” condition within the next three years, a Federal Highway Administration spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs. The spokesperson said the funding should improve the condition of 60 bridges, of which 25 are in “poor” condition and the remaining are in “fair” condition.

“All of these are judged most importantly by how critical the need is to replace the bridge,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in response to a question from ConsumerAffairs at a press conference. “If you have a bridge that is in ‘good’ condition, that is not one we are going to contemplate.”

Bridge inspectors examine all the structures of a bridge to find deficiencies, such as corrosion, cracking, distortion and overstress, according to the federal government’s bridge inspection manual. Issues to look for include water erosion, unevenness, roughness, road misalignment, unusual temperature and bulging.

“Highway bridge conditions can be affected by a number of circumstances, including age, traffic volume (including truck usage), weather and the environment, the level of maintenance and preservation, and many other factors,” a Federal Highway Administration spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs.

Inspections typically happen every two years and are conducted by state governments. A wide range of bridges are captured in the inspection data, including any “erected over a depression or an obstruction, such as water, highway, or railway, and having a track or passageway for carrying traffic or other moving loads, and having an opening measured along the center of the roadway of more than 20 feet between under copings of abutments or spring lines of arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes,” according to federal regulations.

ConsumerAffairs investigated the Federal Highway Administration’s 2024 data published in July on the number of “good,” “fair” and “poor” bridges across 54 U.S. states, territories and Washington, D.C., excluding American Samoa and the Northern Marianas. We calculated and summarized the percentages of bridges by their condition and location by state and county and highlighted changes over time dating back to 2009.

These are the U.S. states with the best bridges

The average score for bridges in “good” condition across the U.S. is 44% in 2024, but only 18 states posted rates higher than that number when ConsumerAffairs reviewed the government data. Georgia leads the nation by far, with 74.8% of its bridges in “good” condition. The state largely owes its success to higher infrastructure spending, which has also grown its number of bridges from 14,710 in 2009 to 15,069 in 2024.

This year, an additional $1.5 billion is going toward Georgia’s infrastructure in what Gov. Brian Kemp told ConsumerAffairs was a “historic investment.”

“From our sprawling freight infrastructure and efficient airports to our growing network of reliable roads, bridges and highways, Georgia’s infrastructure stands second to none in the country,” Kemp stated.

Georgia is followed by Arizona, with 63.5% of its bridges listed in “good” condition. Ohio (61.1%), Florida (59.6%) and Nevada (58.3%) round out the top five states in our ranking.

The list of states with the lowest percentage of bridges in “poor” condition includes some of the same states that have a high percentage of “good” bridges. Nevada tops the list, with only 1.1% of its bridges considered to be in “poor” condition, followed closely by Arizona and Texas, at 1.2%.

Georgia leads the way among states that have improved bridge conditions since 2009. Since that year, it has grown its share of bridges in “good” condition from 51% to 75%. It is followed by Ohio, which grew its share of bridges in “good” condition from 48% in 2009 to 61% in 2024.

These are the U.S. states with the worst bridges

The U.S. Virgin Islands has the highest share of bridges in “poor” condition of all U.S. states and territories, at 29.2%. Fellow territories Puerto Rico and Guam also make the top 10 for having the highest share of “poor” bridges.

However, five U.S. states — Iowa, West Virginia, South Dakota, Maine and Rhode Island — have a higher percentage of bridges in “poor” condition than Puerto Rico and Guam.

Excluding territories, Iowa and West Virginia are nearly tied, with 19% of their bridges in “poor” condition. Iowa's share of bridges in “poor” condition has fallen slightly since 2009, but not enough to keep it from being among the worst in the nation.

Scott Neubauer, a bridge maintenance and inspection engineer at Iowa's Bridges and Structures Bureau, told ConsumerAffairs that a big reason Iowa is struggling is that it has so many bridges to maintain. The state has 23,719 bridges in 2024, down from 24,799 in 2009. On average, U.S. states have around 12,410 bridges in 2024.

“Bridges are continually aging, and some may eventually become poor before repairs or replacement can be done,” Neubauer said. “Poor doesn't mean unsafe. Bridges that are found to be unsafe are closed.”

When asked for comment, the West Virginia governor’s office referred ConsumerAffairs to the state’s Department of Transportation. The department didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

When it comes to the states and territories with the lowest share of bridges in “good” condition, the U.S. Virgin Islands once again tops the list, at 16.7%. Among states, Utah has the lowest share of bridges in “good” condition, at 22.2%. It’s followed by Rhode Island, at 22.9%, and Maine, at 24.9%.

The health of Utah’s bridges has fallen sharply in recent years. In 2009, around 59% of its bridges were in “good" condition. In 2024, that number was only 22%. West Virginia has also seen a big drop in its share of “good” bridges, to 25% in 2024 from 47% in 2009.

"We take care of what we have. This means we actively identify and perform maintenance and preservation needed to keep our roads and bridges safe and reliable,” a Utah Department of Transportation spokesperson told ConsumerAffairs. “Our bridge inspectors and maintenance personnel go out regularly to ensure safety and to flag any potential needs. Our comprehensive bridge management program ensures we work to do the right thing at the right time.”

You can search your state’s or territory’s percentage of “good,” “fair” and “poor” bridges in the table below.

These are the U.S. counties with the best bridges

Among counties with 100 or more bridges, Georgia dominates the top 25 list by the share of bridges in “good” condition. The state took 17 of the 25 spots, followed by Ohio with three and Oklahoma with two.

Grady County in Georgia, which has 104 bridges, has the highest percentage of bridges in “good” condition, at 93.3%. It’s followed by Oklahoma’s Roger Mills County (92.2%) and Georgia’s Thomas County (90.5%).

These are the U.S. counties with the worst bridges

Among counties with 100 or more bridges, Iowa dominates those with the highest share of bridges in “poor” condition. The state took 18 spots in the ranking, followed by South Dakota, Nebraska and West Virginia, which all have two spots.

Adams County in Iowa, which has 186 bridges, has the highest share of bridges listed in “poor” condition, at 44.6%. It’s followed by Iowa’s Marshall County, at 43.4%, and Ringgold County, at 43.3%.

You can search for your county’s percentage of “good,” “fair” and “poor” bridges in the table below.

Methodology

ConsumerAffairs investigated the Federal Highway Administration’s 2024 data, published in July, which listed the number of “good,” “fair” and “poor” bridges across 54 U.S. states, territories and Washington, D.C. American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands were excluded.

We combined multiple years of data on the totals of “good,” “fair” and “poor” bridges going back to 2009 into one dataset and calculated percentages from the totals to rank the states. We also calculated the changes in each state’s and territory’s shares of “good” and “poor” bridges between 2009 and 2024.

For 3,226 counties, we only analyzed data from 2024. We used geographic identifiers to map them and show how they compared on choropleth maps. We also calculated the percentages of “good, “fair” and “poor” bridges to rank the counties.

For questions about the data or if you'd like to set up an interview, please contact acurls@consumeraffairs.com.

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Article sources

ConsumerAffairs writers primarily rely on government data, industry experts and original research from other reputable publications to inform their work. Specific sources for this article include:

1. Federal Highway Administration, “Bridge Condition By Highway System.” Accessed July 9, 2024.Link Here
2. Federal Highway Administration, “Bridge Condition By County.” Accessed July 9, 2024.Link Here