Report: Percentage of West Virginia bridges deemed "structurally deficient" the second-highest in U.S.

West Virginia has some of the worst bridges in the nation, according to a new report by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

The annual report analyzed bridge data from the Federal Highway Administration released in March 2019.

19.9% of West Virginia bridges were deemed structurally deficient, meaning the bridges are in poor condition and in need of repairs. This does not mean the bridges are unsafe for travel.

1,444 bridges fall in that category out of the 7,269 in the state.

The only state with a higher percentage of structurally deficient bridges is Rhode Island.

West Virginia's 1,444 structurally deficient bridges rank 12th in the nation. Iowa has the most at 4,675, good for 19.4% of that state's bridges.

88 of West Virginia's bad bridges are on interstates, according to the report. It says the state has identified 3,637 bridges in need of repairs at an estimated cost of $2 billion. That's more than 200 more than those in need of work in 2014.

The report also details bridges that are traveled the most in the state that have been deemed structurally deficient.

The most-travled bridge on the list is the bridge on I-79 crossing the I-68 Eastbound on-ramp. The report says the bridge is crossed more than 200,000 times every day.

Two bridges on Route 50 in Harrison County also made the top 10. US 50 over I-79 sees more than 46,000 crossings daily, while Route 50 over WV 20 (Marshall Street) has more than 43,000 crossings.

The report explains the new definition from the Federal Highway Administration for a structurally deficient bridge:

"The new definition limits the classification to bridges where one of the key structural elements—the deck, superstructure, substructure or culverts, are rated in poor or worse condition. During inspection, the conditions of a variety of bridge elements are rated on a scale of 0 (failed condition) to 9 (excellent condition). A rating of 4 is considered “poor” condition."

A link to the full report is available in 'Related Links' (to the right on desktop, below on mobile.)