Iowa ranks third for having the worst bridges in the United States, according to a report issued today by a coalition of groups that want to increase government spending on the nation’s transportation system.

The report by Transportation for America says Iowa has 24,722 bridges statewide, and 21.7 percent, or 5,371 bridges are considered “deficient.” The only states with a higher percentage of deficient bridges are Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

Transportation for America also says that the Des Moines metro area has the fourth-highest percentage of deficient bridges out of 102 metro areas nationwide with populations between 500,000 and 1 million. The report says that 24.3 percent, or 358 bridges, in the Des Moines area are structurally deficient and an average of six motorists cross a deficient bridge every second.

The report is likely to be cited by Iowa highway lobby groups as evidence that Iowa needs to increase spending on roads and bridges. A citizens advisory committee appointed by Gov. Terry Branstad earlier this month recommended raising the state’s gasoline tax by up to a dime per gallon and by raising other fees to generate more than $200 million annually in increased revenue for the state’s road construction programs.

The fact that Iowa has a lot of structurally deficient bridges has been reported in many previous studies. While state officials have cited such research in proposing more work on the state’s roads and bridges, they  have also said that motorists are not in  danger by driving on these deficient bridges, and none of these bridges are facing the possibility of imminent collapse. The biggest problems appear to be on Iowa’s rural county road system, where many bridges are antiquated but only carry a handful of cars and trucks every day.

Transportation for America is a lobby group with representation from more than 500 national, state and local organizations, including the National Association of Realtors, National Association of City Transportation

Article source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-Transportation/~3/VbuI-KUlrU4/