Report: Condition of NY Local Bridges Improve – Finger Lakes Daily News

One in 10 locally owned bridges in New York state is rated in poor condition, according to a report released Thursday by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The estimated cost for work needed on local bridges in the state in 2023 was approximately $29 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) data.

“Ensuring safe and reliable public infrastructure is an ongoing concern for local governments across the country,” DiNapoli said. “Despite increased funding from the federal and state governments, there is a great deal more work that needs to be done in New York. Local governments need this funding to continue so sorely needed repairs and maintenance are completed.”

As of 2023, New York had 17,573 highway bridges. Local governments, mostly counties, own 50.6% or 8,891 of the state’s bridges.

New York Compared to the Nation

Nationwide, 6.8% of bridges were rated in poor condition. Arizona had the smallest percentage of bridges in poor condition (1.1%), while West Virginia had the largest (19.7%), according to 2023 Federal Highway Administration data. Overall, 11 states had a higher percentage of bridges in poor condition than New York.

When the state Department of Transportation inspects a bridge, it assigns a rating or score – ranging from 0 (worst) to 9 (best) – to major bridge components based on their capacity to carry vehicular loads. If any major component receives a score of 4 or below, the bridge is rated “poor.”

In New York, 9% of all bridges were rated in poor condition in 2023, 2.2 percentage points higher than the national figure, but down slightly from 2017, according to FHWA data.

A total of 81 bridges were closed in 2023, down from 95 in 2017, a 14.7% decrease. The majority were owned by either local governments (56.8%) or the state (37%).

Location of New York’s Local Bridges in Poor Condition

In 2023, 10% of local bridges were rated in poor condition, down from 12.1% in 2017. The regions with the highest percentage of local bridges in poor condition in 2023 were the Mid-Hudson (13.9%) and Capital District (13.7%) regions. Long Island (3.2%) and New York City (7.1%) had the lowest percentage of bridges rated in poor condition. The North Country (50.1%), Finger Lakes (48.7%), and Western New York (45.4%) regions have the highest share of local bridges in good condition.

Nearly every county and New York City had at least one local bridge rated in poor condition in 2023. Ulster County had the most, with 63 in poor condition, followed by New York City (60), Columbia County (34), Orange County (31) and Rensselaer County (31). Conversely, Yates County had only one local bridge in poor condition, while Suffolk and Wyoming counties had two each. Schenectady County had the fewest number of local bridges overall and was the only county that did not have any in poor condition in 2023.

Funding for Improvements

A majority of the FHWA’s estimated $29 billion cost to maintain New York’s local bridges was for New York City ($19.1 billion, or 66.7%) because it has some of the largest and most expensive to maintain. Estimated improvement costs for the rest of the state’s local bridges was $9.6 billion.

The federal government has historically served as a major source of transportation infrastructure funding. Under the Bridge Formula Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, New York has been allocated $2 billion to improve state, local and tribal bridges over federal fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

In New York, state and federal funding for local bridge projects often flows through the state Department of Transportation’s Bridge NY program, which has funded more than 800 projects since 2016, with a total investment of almost $1.7 billion, including the latest round of awards announced earlier this month. Counties, cities, towns and villages, as well as other entities, such as tribal governments and public benefit corporations, can apply for Bridge NY funding.

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