Report: Pennsylvania’s Bridges Are Worst in Nation

A report from a transportation construction advocacy group says the state has the most 'structurally-deficient' bridges of any in the country.

A report released Thursday from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association names Pennsylvania’s bridges the worst in the nation. ARTBA — the country’s largest transportation construction trade group and advocates for more spending on road infrastructure — says Pennsylvania has both the most (5,218) and the highest percentage (23%) of “structurally deficient” bridges of any state in the union. Pennsylvania has 22,660 bridges in all.

The full state rankings put Pennsylvania just ahead of Iowa. New Jersey (29th, 624 bridges, 10%) and Delaware (49th, 56, 6%) fare much better than the Keystone State in the rankings.

Looking at the bridge data for Pennsylvania shows that most of Pennsylvania’s most-traveled deficient bridges are on I-95 in Philadelphia, though a bridge in Pittsburgh takes the top spot.

No Philly bridges are in the top 250 most-traveled structurally deficient bridges in the U.S., which is primarily made up of California bridges. The I-95 bridges in Northeast Philadelphia are, fortunately, in the process of being rebuilt.