Tina Grady Barbaccia

A Five-Year Look at America’s Bridge Inventory

Type of Bridge	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Interstate and state bridges
Total surveyed	287,197	285,942	287,431	288,511	288,920
SD/FO	63,574	62,517	62,855	63,910	62,504
City, county, township bridges
Total surveyed	308,428	309,247	310,384	308,893	308,867
SD/FO	85,552	83,479	81,459	81,032	79,394
Total overall bridges surveyed
Total	595,625	595,189	597,185	597,404	597,787
*SD/FO	149,126	145,996	144,314	144,942	141,898
Note: There were 383 more bridges in the national inventory this year

*SD/FO = structurally deficient, functionally obsolete Source: Better Roads 2009 Bridge Inventory Survey

About the study

The Better Roads Bridge Inventory is an exclusive, award-winning, annual survey that has been conducted since 1979. Bridge engineers from every state and Washington, D.C., are sent a survey with both qualitative and quantitative questions. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in consultation with the states, has assigned a sufficiency rating, or SR, to each bridge (20 feet or more) that is inventoried. Formula SR rating factors are outlined in the current Recording and Coding Guide for Structure Inventory and Appraisal SI&A of the Nation’s Bridges. The qualitative data are gathered through a questionnaire about major issues concerning bridge conditions and maintenance.

For more information

The complete bridge inventory appears in the November 2009 print issue of Better Roads and at www.BetterRoads.com.