Study Finds 385 Miles Of Crumbling Bridges In NYC

NEW YORK CITY — Dozens of New York City bridges could see repairs as part of President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan, but recent data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration suggests it might not be enough.

Of the city's nearly 1,500 bridges, 105 are in poor condition, according to a report released by the highway administration. Only 409 are considered good.

That's more than 385 square miles of bridge that's in poor repair.

Nationally, 35,000 bridges rated poor are among more than 35,000 to receive the low mark nationally, NBC News found in an analysis of the highway administration’s data.

Bridges were rated based on their deck, superstructure and substructure, with culverts — drain or channel crossings — included in the ratings as well. The bridges with an overall rating of seven or above are labeled good, with those rated five or six classified as fair and those with a rating of four or lower considered poor.

The report does not name individual bridges.

Part of Biden’s infrastructure proposal, called the “American Jobs Plan,” includes about $115 billion to repair highways, roads and bridges, according to an NPR report. Negotiations on the infrastructure bill have stalled between the Biden administration and Senate Republicans, however, as a group of centrist senators have been called on to help reach a compromise.

As Biden’s plan stood in late May, 10,000 or so of the nation’s smaller bridges would be repaired, according to NBC News.

That might not be nearly enough, especially in the rural areas of America where the highway administration’s data shows bridges are in most need of repair. Largely, bridges with two lanes or fewer were rated as in most need of repair in their most recent inspection, NBC News reported.

Mark Nahra, president of the Iowa County Engineers Association who has worked on bridges in the state for nearly four decades, told NBC that usually “the bridges that are in poor condition have less than 10 years of estimated remaining life.”