A report issued last week rates Iowa as having the most structurally deficient bridges in the country and the second-highest percentage of such bridges.
The numbers 4,968 bridges, which make up 20.5 percent of Iowas total figure, according to The American Road & Transportation Builders Association are astounding. More than one in five bridges has been deemed as unsatisfactory.
Given the shortfall and other critical needs going unmet, Iowa must be prudent in going forth. The state needs to invest in its infrastructure.
To be clear, bridges labeled structurally deficient arent necessarily in immediate danger of collapse. The term is applied when spans need rehabilitation or replacement because at least one major component has advanced deterioration or other problems.
Those unable to support heavier loads are clearly marked by city or county engineers. But, because of a lack of resources, many of these bridges are at least 50 years old and have never undergone any major repairs.
Many of the most heavily traveled bridges support busy interstates or other highways, including the intersection of North Sixth Street and West Kanesville Boulevard in Council Bluffs, are easily noticed. But many of the bridges bearing even more potential danger can be found in rural portions of the state.
Iowa, the state noted for having two borders completely drawn by rivers, has plenty of creeks and streams away from the state lines. Bridges over these smaller bodies of water often carry larger trucks and trailers from farm to market in more sparsely populated areas.
The work is being done in southwest Iowa. Council Bluffs interstate reconstruction is a clear step in the right direction, as are smaller projects, such as recent bridge repair along Iowa Highway 92 near Treynor.
The need to repair roads and bridges in Iowa or this country is nothing new.
Thats why the Iowa Legislature voted a couple years ago to increase the fuel tax. President Donald Trump has pledged a massive project to improve the nations infrastructure, with roads and bridges playing a central role in the campaign proposal that has yet to be formally unveiled.
And its clear that some progress is being made. The study noted that 57 Iowa bridges have been repaired since the previous years survey, which is progress in a positive direction.
However, the safety and security of Iowans and others traversing our state must remain at the forefront. Anything, within reason, the state can do to help accelerate the repair of aging bridges would be a positive step.
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Our View: Progress on bridge repairs is too slow - The Daily Nonpareil