Finance and Economic

For the first time in a decade, Pennsylvania's bridges are actually getting healthier. That is, the number of structurally deficient bridges has decreased from a high of 6,035 in 2008 to 5,646, according to the latest rankings from the state's Department of Transportation.

Pennsylvania's focus on bridge repair has been building, beginning with the accelerated bridge program which identified 411 needy structures for repair in 2009, but actually bid 470 with another 403 bridges expected to be under contract by the end of the fiscal year.

When the federal Recovery Act came around in early 2009, dishing out $1.026 billion for transportation infrastructure to Pennsylvania, the state quickly identified another 476 crossings for repairs fast cash.

"We're making headway," said PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick.

But much more work, not least of which will involve securing funding for bridge repairs, remains ahead.

The state is working against an infrastructure that's older than in most other parts of the country.

Almost half of its 25,322 bridges were built 50 years ago or more.

That's more than twice the national average.

Click here for a searchable database of Pennsylvania's bridges, and their current conditions.

Source