Some bridge inspections are running late
At least 17,000 U.S. bridges went more than two years between inspections despite federal regulations requiring biennial check-ups, according to MSNBC.com. The collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis in August that killed 13 people led to a call for increased funding to repair dangerous bridges, but the MSNBC.com report found that 2,728 bridges labeled as deficient or obsolete in the National Bridge Inventory had gone more than two years between inspections. While four states — Delaware, Georgia, Nevada and Tennessee — reported perfect records of maintaining biennial inspections and 19 more only allowed less than 1 percent of their bridges to fall behind in inspections, other states were much further behind on examinations. Hawaii had the worst rate with 46.5 percent of its bridges going beyond two years between reviews.
States with late bridge inspections | Percentage of bridges that go more than two years between inspections |
---|---|
Hawaii | 46.5% |
Rhode Island | 27.5% |
Arizona | 26.7% |
New Mexico | 17.4% |
West Virginia | 12.2% |
Illinois | 11.5% |
District of Columbia | 11.5% |
Alaska | 8.1% |
Colorado | 7.2% |
North Carolina | 4.2% |
Source: MSNBC.com, “Late inspections of bridges put travelers at risk,” Jan. 30, 2008. |