The Connecticut Department of Transportation is responding to concerns after a report identified numerous structurally deficient bridges across the state.
The report, published by Transportation For America, found that 406 of Connecticut’s 4,196 bridges are structurally deficient, meaning that they are in need of substantial repair or replacement.
The state of Connecticut has disagreed with the number established by the report, saying that the actual number of bridges in this category is 331.
The numbers have raised concerns over the safety of the state’s bridges. Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick has responded by saying that a structurally deficient bridge is not an unsafe bridge.
“Statistically, being on a bridge in Connecticut is safer than being on an airplane,” Nursick told WTIC.
“Bridges in Connecticut are very very safe–people should not be concerned from that standpoint.”
Nursick says bridges considered structurally deficient are treated with regular maintenance. All bridges in the state, including structurally deficient bridges, are subject to individual inspections at least once every two years.
Overall, Connecticut ranks 27th worst in the nation for the condition of bridges, according to the report. This year, 9.7% of all state bridges were deficient, a rate that is 4.1% worse from that of 2011.
The average age of a deficient bridge in Connecticut is 65 years.
Click here to read the full report.
