The number of bridges classified as structurally deficient declined from 89,000 in 2000 to about 56,000 in 2016, and fell each year over that period. However, structurally deficient bridges in urban areas are generally much larger and, therefore, more expensive to fix. Nevertheless, bridges on Interstate Highways are generally in better condition than those on more lightly traveled routes: 3.5% of urban Interstate Highway bridges were considered structurally deficient in 2016, less than half of the 8.5% structural deficiency rate of urban bridges on local roads. FHWA, however, does not determine which bridges should benefit from federal funding. The Highway Bridge Program, a stand-alone program for highway bridges that was formerly part of the Federal-Aid Highway Program, was terminated at the end of FY2012.The current law authorizing highway spending, the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act; P.L. Depending on the specific use, funding from other formula programs may also be used on bridge projects on a case-by-case basis. For example, if more than 10% of the deck area of a state's bridges on the National Highway System (which consists of the Interstate Highway System and most other principal arterial roads) is structurally deficient, the state is subject to a penalty requiring it to dedicate an amount of its NHPP funds equal to 50% of its FY2009 spending under the former Highway Bridge Program to bridge projects. FHWA's Emergency Relief Program

The Emergency Relief Program provides funding for bridges damaged in natural disasters or that are subject to catastrophic failures from an outside source. Issues for Congress

Both the washout of the Interstate 10 bridge and the use restriction imposed in 2016 on the Arlington Memorial Bridge, a federally owned bridge between Arlington, VA, and Washington, DC, led to warnings that the large number of structurally deficient bridges indicates an incipient crisis. FHWA data do not substantiate this assertion. The number of bridges classified as structurally deficient has fallen consistently since 1990, and the proportion of all highway bridges identified as structurally deficient is the lowest in decades. The condition of roads, in particular urban roads, has not experienced the same degree of improvement as the condition of bridges. This disparity raises the policy question of what priority should go to bridge repairs as opposed to roadway repairs. 112-141 ), enacted in 2012, Congress implicitly addressed this issue by giving states greater flexibility to use federal funding for roads or for bridges, at their discretion. As it conducts oversight of the implementation of the FAST Act, Congress may want to monitor states' patterns of bridge spending.
Of the 614,000 public road bridges in the United States, about 56,000 (9%) were classified as structurally deficient in 2016. These figures—along with events such as the July 20, 2015, washout of the Interstate 10 Bridge near Desert Center, CA, and the partial closure of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, which connects Washington, DC, to Northern Virginia—have led to claims that the United States is experiencing a crisis with respect to deficient bridges. Federal data do not substantiate this assertion. The number of bridges classified as structurally deficient has fallen consistently since at least 2000, and the proportion of all highway bridges classified as structurally deficient is the lowest in decades.
The vast majority of structurally deficient bridges, over four out of five, are in rural areas. These bridges tend to be small and relatively lightly traveled. Structurally deficient bridges in urban areas, while far fewer, are generally much larger and, therefore, more expensive to fix: almost 57% of the deck area of structurally deficient bridges is on urban bridges. Bridges on roads carrying heavy traffic loads, particularly Interstate Highway bridges, are generally in better condition than those on more lightly traveled routes.
Federal funding for bridge building, reconstruction, and repair is authorized in surface transportation acts. The most recent authorization is the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act; P.L. 114-94), which was enacted on December 4, 2015. The FAST Act did not authorize a program dedicated to highway bridges, but it made bridge projects broadly eligible for federal funding under the largest of the highway formula programs and eligible on a case-by-case basis under other programs. Bridges that are damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events may also be eligible for Emergency Relief Program funds.
The condition of roads, in particular urban roads, has not experienced the same degree of improvement as the condition of bridges. This disparity raises the policy question of what priority should go to bridge repairs as opposed to roadway repairs. Congress has implicitly addressed this issue by giving states greater flexibility to use federal funding for roads or for bridges, at their discretion. Laws enacted in 2012 and again in 2015 have given states near-total authority to determine which projects to fund with federal highway funds, within broad guidelines established by Congress. As it oversees implementation of the FAST Act over the next few years, Congress may want to evaluate whether states are making sufficient progress in reducing the number of structurally deficient bridges and whether future laws should reestablish specific requirements for bridge spending.