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Only two out of every five bridges in the U.S. are in good condition, according to the 2024 National Bridge Inventory.The Hearst Television Data Team analyzed more than 30 years of National Bridge Inventory data going back to 1992 —the earliest year for which the inventory has data. The National Bridge Inventory, or NBI, is an annually-published snapshot of the latest inspection reports for bridges in all 50 states plus D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.The database of more than 623,000 bridges and culverts is a compilation of bridge records reported by each state following National Bridge Inspection Standards, which are federal regulations that apply to all bridges on public roads. It includes the latest condition ratings for highway bridges that have a length of more than 20 feet plus various characteristics of bridges, like location, type and traffic.Data in the NBI is used by the Federal Highway Administration to submit reports to Congress on the status of bridges as well as for owners to use to determine project funding. Most bridges are inspected every two years, so data for a bridge may not be new each time the database is published.The Hearst Television Data Team's analysis excluded culverts, which differ structurally from bridges. National statistics also exclude data from U.S. territories. This brings the total bridges analyzed to 473,440.A growing number of fair bridgesThe number of bridges in fair condition has grown over the past 30 years, surpassing the number of good bridges in 1999. Ever since, fair bridges have continued to increase and now make up more than 51% of the nation's inventory. It's a change that has coincided with a slight decline in good bridges over the past 10 years as well as a decline in poor bridges, according to the Hearst Television Data Team's analysis.Ratings are calculated in three categories: good, fair and poor. The NBI inspection ratings use the lowest score out of three main components of a bridge for the overall rating: the deck, the substructure and the superstructure. If a bridge's lowest score is between 0 and 4 in at least one category, it is considered poor condition. If its lowest is between 5 and 6, it's in fair condition and if it's 7 through 9, it's in good condition.More than 8% of bridges in the U.S. are in poor conditionWhile the overall number and share of bridges in poor condition has been declining nationwide, almost one out of 10 bridges in the U.S. was in poor condition, according to the inventory's 2024 inspection reports for bridges.The states with the highest share were Iowa and South Dakota, where one out of five bridges in each state were in poor condition, according to the NBI data.States with colder climates may have more deteriorated bridges due to the effects of salt and de-icing chemicals.A bridge in poor condition means it received a score of 4 or lower in at least one of the three main components of a bridge.Poorest of poor bridgesMore than three-quarters of the 38,360 bridges in poor condition have a 4 as the lowest rating, which means the bridge has advanced section loss, deterioration, spalling or scour. Just over 17% of poor bridges have a lowest rating of 3, or serious condition, which is similar to level 4 but has "seriously affected" primary structural components.The remaining 6% of poor bridges, with ratings defined by the National Bridge Inspection Standards recording and coding guide, include:Rating 2 - 1,155 bridges: This level is labeled critical and is described as advanced primary structure deterioration that might be necessary to close unless closely monitoredRating 1 - 388 bridges: Called "imminent" failure condition, these are categorized as closed but may have light service with corrective action.Rating 0 - 745 bridges: Out-of-service bridges that are beyond corrective action.Only six states have more than half of bridges in good condition Around 41% of the bridge inventory— or 193,000 — bridges were in good condition, according to the data. Only six states had more than half of their bridge inventory in good condition, according to the NBI. Georgia had the highest share of bridges in good condition at 70% as of last year, a number that grew steeply between 2019 and 2021 as bridges in fair condition declined in the state.Florida and Ohio had the second-highest shares of bridges at 62% and 61%, respectively. Then behind them were Nevada, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.Utah has the lowest share of bridges in good condition at 20%, but also has the highest share of bridges in fair condition at more than 76%.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=