Arkansas Trucking Association

State Bridge Profile Finds 6.3% of Arkansas Bridges are Structurally Deficient

Arkansas’ bridges ranked 34^th nationwide, based on percentage of bridges characterized as structurally deficient. Of Arkansas’ 12,871 bridges, 811 (or 6.3%) were found to be structurally deficient, according to 2016 bridge data analyzed by the American Road & & Transportation Builders Association.

Motorists have crossed these structurally deficient bridges 2.07 million times daily last year. Most of the busiest bridges deemed structurally deficient are in central Arkansas, including two Union Pacific Railroad overpasses in Pulaski County (both crossed 123,000 times each day).

“Structurally deficient” is defined by one or more of the “key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or substructure, is considered to be in poor or worse condition,” according to ARTBA..

Arkansas’ percentage is better than the 9.1% of all structurally deficient bridges in the U.S. in 2016. And the number of structurally deficient bridges decreased 4.2% in Arkansas where 61% of the highway and road projects are supported by federal money.

States with the lowest percentage of structurally deficient bridges were Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia.