There's something missing from the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland. That something is the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Just last year, a 95,000-ton cargo ship lost steering and crashed into the bridge, causing it to collapse. Six people died in the process. This incident has ignited pressing concerns about the durability of America's aging infrastructure, putting a spotlight on bridges. Most bridges have a lifespan of about 50 years. Experts say that the average bridge in America is about 47 years old, meaning it's a pivotal moment in the age and future of bridge infrastructure.Bridges are inspected by their state departments of transportation every couple of years. A bridge condition rating is calculated using the lowest score out of four major categories that are considered major parts of the bridge. Finally, based on the range of the numbers, the bridge is given a condition. Those conditions are "good," "fair" and "poor." The conditions are calculated and logged in the National Bridge Inventory, or NBI. Poor is considered the highest level of deterioration and damage. The Hearst Television Data Team analyzed the NBI to collect data on the 473,440 bridges in the U.S., excluding culvert bridges and data from U.S. territories. That analysis identified 38,360 bridges in poor condition.According to the data, there are 241,715 bridges in fair condition and 193,365 in good condition. Anthony Foxx is the Emma Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and the Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. He also served as the 17th U.S. Secretary of Transportation, where he led the agency’s efforts to advance technology and address past inequities in the agency’s decision-making. "I inherited a country with a huge backlog of bridges that were in disrepair. This has been decades in the making," Foxx said.As bridges age, crews need to make decisions on whether to repair or replace them. The National Investigative Unit took a trip to the Black Hawk Bridge, over the Mississippi River, which connects Iowa and Wisconsin. The Iowa Department of Transportation took the team underneath to see the blemishes you often see on a bridge. Blemishes that, if ignored, lead to bigger troubles that can't be seen. The Black Hawk Bridge is approaching 94 years of age and is considered to be in poor condition. With the age and the extent of its problems, it’s too late for repairs. That's why crews are replacing it entirely."There's a pretty long process that we go through in terms of a planning study to decide on what's the best future for the bridge. In this case, we're doing a condition-based bridge replacement, which means the bridge has got some defects and deterioration that is causing us to recognize that it's time for replacement," said Jim Nelson, the Director of Bridges and Structures Bureau for Iowa’s DOT. The bridge is experiencing deterioration like corrosion and section loss. But the bridge's characteristics also make it necessary to replace. It's narrow and has fracture critical members (also called nonredundant steel tension members), which Nelson says puts it at a certain risk of collapse. There are many factors that go into the deterioration of a bridge in a Midwest state, including winter weather. De-icing chemicals and salt can corrode bridges. According to the Hearst Television Data Team analysis, Iowa leads the nation with 22.8% of bridges in poor condition.In many cases, bridges that are starting to deteriorate and move into poor condition could be saved with proper and consistent maintenance. Experts say a bridge that is maintained can live past its life cycle a few times over. But funding is a leading cause of states pushing back, or deferring, critical maintenance. "We tend to not include the full lifecycle cost of our roads and our bridges when we decide to build them in the first place, which means that future generations end up paying for maintenance without a real clear understanding of what those costs will be," Foxx said. Foxx continues that state and local governments depend on federal funding for infrastructure maintenance."The uncertainty at the federal level has created an effect that's frozen state and local governments, which has slowed down the rate of deferred maintenance improvements that have made this problem worse," Foxx said."It's much better from a lifecycle cost standpoint to preserve the good and fair bridges that we have and invest in proactive maintenance treatments," Nelson said.Iowa has a bubble of bridges built in the '50s, '60s and '70s, presenting a maintenance challenge for Nelson and his team. He says their bridge data analyst is looking at Iowa’s bridge index and forecasting tells them that they’re looking at a decline in bridge conditions with the current funding level.In order to improve bridge conditions in Iowa, Nelson says the department has implemented innovative strategies."We're actually starting a program where we're scanning our new bridge decks to detect cracking. And so we're using high-resolution imagery, and we're mapping early age bridge cracking. And then we want to put in a preservation strategy based on the severity of that early age cracking," Nelson said.Typically, it can be more cost-effective to repair a bridge rather than replace it. The new Black Hawk Bridge’s estimated cost is about $140 million. But the Iowa Department of Transportation is looking at the benefits of building a new bridge. (You can click on the link to see the comparison of what the new bridge will look like compared to the old one.)The new bridge will be taller and wider, giving vehicles more room to drive. The beams and girders that support the bridge and its deck will be built with better reinforcements and more robust piers. Also, the foundation depth will be about three times deeper, making it more stable.While massive cargo ships don’t go under the bridge, large barges and boats do. The new advanced designs will ensure that if a collision does happen, the Black Hawk Bridge will remain standing, preventing a similar tragedy to the one that occurred in Baltimore. Proactive effort now, from repairs to replacements, could spare lives and alleviate economic repercussions in the future. Time is of the essence to safeguard America's bridges before borrowed time runs out.This story was shot and edited by our Hearst National Investigative Photojournalist Reid Bolton.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
LANSING, Iowa — There's something missing from the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland. That something is the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Just last year, a 95,000-ton cargo ship lost steering and crashed into the bridge, causing it to collapse. Six people died in the process. This incident has ignited pressing concerns about the durability of America's aging infrastructure, putting a spotlight on bridges.
Most bridges have a lifespan of about 50 years. Experts say that the average bridge in America is about 47 years old, meaning it's a pivotal moment in the age and future of bridge infrastructure.
Bridges are inspected by their state departments of transportation every couple of years. A bridge condition rating is calculated using the lowest score out of four major categories that are considered major parts of the bridge. Finally, based on the range of the numbers, the bridge is given a condition. Those conditions are "good," "fair" and "poor." The conditions are calculated and logged in the National Bridge Inventory, or NBI. Poor is considered the highest level of deterioration and damage.
The Hearst Television Data Team analyzed the NBI to collect data on the 473,440 bridges in the U.S., excluding culvert bridges and data from U.S. territories. That analysis identified 38,360 bridges in poor condition.
According to the data, there are 241,715 bridges in fair condition and 193,365 in good condition.
is the Emma Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and the Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. He also served as the 17th U.S. Secretary of Transportation, where he led the agency’s efforts to advance technology and address past inequities in the agency’s decision-making.
"I inherited a country with a huge backlog of bridges that were in disrepair. This has been decades in the making," Foxx said.
Hearst Television
Former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx talks about the infrastructure of bridges with the National Investigative Unit.
As bridges age, crews need to make decisions on whether to repair or replace them. The National Investigative Unit took a trip to the Black Hawk Bridge, over the Mississippi River, which connects Iowa and Wisconsin.
The Iowa Department of Transportation took the team underneath to see the blemishes you often see on a bridge. Blemishes that, if ignored, lead to bigger troubles that can't be seen.
Hearst Television
Iowa’s Department of Transportation took the National Investigative Unit underneath the construction of the new Black Hawk Bridge.
The Black Hawk Bridge is approaching 94 years of age and is considered to be in poor condition. With the age and the extent of its problems, it’s too late for repairs. That's why crews are replacing it entirely.
"There's a pretty long process that we go through in terms of a planning study to decide on what's the best future for the bridge. In this case, we're doing a condition-based bridge replacement, which means the bridge has got some defects and deterioration that is causing us to recognize that it's time for replacement," said Jim Nelson, the Director of Bridges and Structures Bureau for Iowa’s DOT.
The bridge is experiencing deterioration like corrosion and section loss. But the bridge's characteristics also make it necessary to replace. It's narrow and has fracture critical members (also called nonredundant steel tension members), which Nelson says puts it at a certain risk of collapse.
There are many factors that go into the deterioration of a bridge in a Midwest state, including winter weather. De-icing chemicals and salt can corrode bridges.
According to the Hearst Television Data Team analysis, Iowa leads the nation with 22.8% of bridges in poor condition.
In many cases, bridges that are starting to deteriorate and move into poor condition could be saved with proper and consistent maintenance. Experts say a bridge that is maintained can live past its life cycle a few times over. But funding is a leading cause of states pushing back, or deferring, critical maintenance.
"We tend to not include the full lifecycle cost of our roads and our bridges when we decide to build them in the first place, which means that future generations end up paying for maintenance without a real clear understanding of what those costs will be," Foxx said.
Foxx continues that state and local governments depend on federal funding for infrastructure maintenance.
"The uncertainty at the federal level has created an effect that's frozen state and local governments, which has slowed down the rate of deferred maintenance improvements that have made this problem worse," Foxx said.
"It's much better from a lifecycle cost standpoint to preserve the good and fair bridges that we have and invest in proactive maintenance treatments," Nelson said.
Iowa has a bubble of bridges built in the '50s, '60s and '70s, presenting a maintenance challenge for Nelson and his team. He says their bridge data analyst is looking at Iowa’s bridge index and forecasting tells them that they’re looking at a decline in bridge conditions with the current funding level.
In order to improve bridge conditions in Iowa, Nelson says the department has implemented innovative strategies.
"We're actually starting a program where we're scanning our new bridge decks to detect cracking. And so we're using high-resolution imagery, and we're mapping early age bridge cracking. And then we want to put in a preservation strategy based on the severity of that early age cracking," Nelson said.
Typically, it can be more cost-effective to repair a bridge rather than replace it. The new Black Hawk Bridge’s estimated cost is about $140 million. But the of building a new bridge. (You can click on the link to see the comparison of what the new bridge will look like compared to the old one.)
The new bridge will be taller and wider, giving vehicles more room to drive. The beams and girders that support the bridge and its deck will be built with better reinforcements and more robust piers. Also, the foundation depth will be about three times deeper, making it more stable.
While massive cargo ships don’t go under the bridge, large barges and boats do. The new advanced designs will ensure that if a collision does happen, the Black Hawk Bridge will remain standing, preventing a similar tragedy to the one that occurred in Baltimore.
Proactive effort now, from repairs to replacements, could spare lives and alleviate economic repercussions in the future. Time is of the essence to safeguard America's bridges before borrowed time runs out.
This story was shot and edited by our Hearst National Investigative Photojournalist Reid Bolton.
