State of bridges in Wisconsin

Posted at 4:30 p.m. on March 29, 2021

Center Square News Service

The share of Wisconsin bridges found to be in poor condition is 6.9 percent of the total, the 26th highest percentage among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to new data from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Wisconsin has a total of 14,271 bridges, with 979 designated in poor condition, according to the FHWA.

Those judged to be in good shape numbered 7,334, the agency reported. The FHWA annually doles out about $7 billion to assist local and state agencies in the planning, repair, construction, inspection and rehabilitation of bridges and other structures such as tunnels and culverts, according to the agency.

The agency’s Office of Bridges and Structures offers policy and technical guidance about the preservation of the nation’s more than 610,000 highway bridges, as well as other key parts of the U.S. transportation system, according to the FHWA. Wisconsin had 14,271 bridges. Of those 7,334 were rated in good condition, 5,958 rated as fair, and 979 as poor.

An accounting of bridge conditions by county will be featured in the April 8 print edition of The Brillion News.