300-Plus CT Bridges Are Structurally Deficient, Report Says

A total of 308 local and state-maintained bridges in Connecticut are structurally deficient, meaning there is significant deterioration to the major components of the bridge.

The aftermath of the June 28, 1983, collapse of part of the Mianus River Bridge along I-95 in Greenwich.
Photo Credit: *Provided/ State Historian's Office*

This chart details the most heavily traveled structurally deficient bridges in Fairfield and Litchfield counties (carrying a minimum of 500 vehicles per day).
Photo Credit: *Provided*

Jon Craig

09/22/2018 6:30 a.m.

The report from TRIP, a national transportation research group, was released Thursday, Sept. 20 in Hartford.

According to this new report, 61 of Fairfield County's bridges are deficient.

Other key facts in the report:

There are a total of 4,254 bridges in Connecticut
Structurally deficient bridges in Connecticut are crossed daily by 4.3 million vehicles.
Redirected trips also lengthen travel time, waste fuel and reduce the efficiency of the local economy.
Fifty-nine percent of the state’s bridges are 50 years or older. The average age of all Connecticut’s bridges is 53 years.
The average age of the state’s more than 300 structurally deficient bridges is 69 years.

Bridges that are structurally deficient may be posted for lower weight limits or closed if their condition warrants. Restrictions on vehicle weight may cause many vehicles – especially emergency vehicles, commercial trucks, school buses and farm equipment – to use alternate routes to avoid weight-restricted bridges.For more details from the bridge report, click here.

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